1 Samuel 24: Loving Your Enemies

Have you ever wanted to seek revenge on someone? Have you ever wanted to get even? It would seem like our culture seems to approve of revenge, or at least accepts it. Think about it in the movies and TV shows you watch. You cheer when the nerds get revenge on the jocks, the boy gets revenge on his ex-girlfriend with a new girlfriend, etc.  Even if our culture says revenge is OK, what about the Bible? Does the Bible say revenge is OK? I believe the Bible does not approve or accept revenge. Naturally, the first verse that comes to mind is Matthew 5:44, but it would be nice to more have a “case study” or a real-life event in the Bible that backs this verse up. How much more powerful would it be if it came from the Old Testament, years before Jesus preached on this earth! Well, 1 Samuel 24 is here for that reason. 1 Samuel 24 will be one of a few chapters in 1 Samuel that promotes loving your enemy. Now it wouldn’t surprise me if some of you reading know me well and you are thinking to yourself, “That’s eisegesis (reading one’s own beliefs into the text)! Your pushing your Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs into this chapter!” If you are thinking that, I hope to show you by the end of the chapter, if the text is left to speak for itself, the text will preach loving your enemies. Therefore, I plan to teach this chapter using the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (T.I.S.) for my interpretation. Remember T.I.S. has God as the main character and looks at other parts of the Bible to make sure its interpretation is correct.

Chapter 24 picks up right where chapter 23 leaves the reader: with the setting. David is in the desert of En Gedi. En Gedi means “Spring of the [goat] kid.” Surrounded by the Judean Desert, En Gedi is an oasis in the desert. The surrounding Judean Desert makes the air hot, but the waters in En Gedi are nice and cool. The source of this cool water is a spring, which trickles down in a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall leaves behind pools of water throughout the mountain. Even to this day, En Gedi is treated like a beach for the locals and the tourists alike. A spring, a waterfall and pools aren’t the only things at En Gedi. En Gedi has a lot of broom trees, not mentioned in 1 Samuel 24, but mentioned in other parts of the Bible, such as 1 Kings 19:4, Job 30:4, and Psalm 120:4. There are also a lot of wild goats, known locally as ibex, which live in the caves. It’s hard to go a day without seeing an ibex. I was fortunate enough to go to En Gedi while I was touring Israel. So throughout this devotional, I will put pictures of En Gedi in so you can see what it looks like and imagine the story happening there.

 

The En Gedi waterfall.

David is hiding in En Gedi with 600 of his men. With a crowd so big, word eventually spreads, and it eventually reaches the ears of Saul. So Saul takes his own men, numbering 3,000, five times the amount, and heads out to search for David in En Gedi. Since En Gedi has so many caves, it makes sense to search them one by one, but it takes a while to do so. Eventually, nature calls for Saul. Literally, the Bible says in Hebrew that Saul “went to cover his feet.” This is a euphemism, which is switching out an offensive word or phrase for a nicer, less offensive one. The euphemism is a good one. When someone needs to go, the person squats, and the robe covers the feet. The only translation that keeps the phrase “cover his feet” is the King James Version. All the other translations replace it with a similar English euphemism. Saul went to relieve himself. Once again, it’s an accurate euphemism. A person does feel relieved afterwards. This euphemism is a better one than “go to the bathroom” as that phrase would insinuate an actual room, while Saul is going outside. (And yes, I just spent a whole paragraph talking about going to the bathroom/relieving oneself.)

 

The En Gedi waterfall.

Unknown to Saul, David and his men (at least some of them) are in the same cave, just farther back. David’s men get giddy. They say to David and each other, “This has to be it! The Lord promised that Saul would be in David’s hands. Today must be that day!” David’s men push David to kill Saul, but David doesn’t do it. Instead, he simply cuts off the corner of Saul’s robe. David does it so successfully that Saul does not even know what happened to him. As for why David merely cut off a piece of robe instead of killing Saul, it will become clear later on in the chapter.

 

A pool at En Gedi

Most people probably wouldn’t make a big deal of cutting off a corner of a garment. I bet David’s men didn’t make a big deal of it either. David, however, did make a big deal out of it. Literally, the Hebrews reads in 1 Samuel 24:5 “his heart smote him.” The NIV helps clear it up a bit better, saying that David was “conscience stricken.” The UBS Handbook on the First Book of Samuel says that phrase even fully doesn’t encompass what the original Hebrew phrase meant. It would translate it “he was sad in his heart” or “his heart felt sorrowful” because this conscious-strickenness is one that’s both intellectual and emotional. David quickly repents of his actions, declaring that even cutting off the robe’s corner was too much for him to do. David still recognizes Saul as the Lord’s anointed, the king over all of Israel, even after Samuel anointed him the next king of Israel. David is also concerned that he sent the wrong message to his men, who look up to him. David quickly rebukes anyone who even thinks of harming Saul. Saul then leaves, totally unaware of what happened to him.

Some of the pools of En Gedi, as seen from above

 

Shortly after Saul leaves, David calls back to Saul from the mouth of the cave. What surprise must have met Saul when Saul realizes that the man he’s hunting was in the cave with him the whole time! Then David waves around the cut corner in his hands. Even more surprise fell on Saul when he realizes how close David was to him. David wants Saul to not only to recognize how close David was to him, but David also wants Saul to recognize how close David was to killing him. David wants Saul to recognize this in order to prove to Saul that David himself is not a threat or danger to Saul. If David is not guilty of a wrongdoing against Saul, then Saul is guilty of a wrongdoing against David by pursuing him. Finally, David leaves it up to the Lord to be the judge. David’s request to God is the guilty be punished and the innocent be protected. But maybe David’s more concentrated on the protection of the innocent over the punishment of the guilty. David requests of Saul to stop pursuing him because David is innocent. Both Saul and David know Exodus 23:7, which says that killing an innocent person is a sin that God will not pardon (remember this is the Old Covenant, and that verse might be talking about a prosecutor or a judge who declares an innocent person guilty in court). By asking Saul to stop pursuing him, David is asking Saul to spare both David’s life and Saul’s own life. In the same manner, with the same caution, David will not kill Saul, but he will leave it up to the Lord.

There are many caves in En Gedi. Good hiding places. Maybe this is why David hid here from Saul
 

After a heart-felt moment from David, Saul responds with his own heart-wrenching moment. Hearing David’s voice alone leads Saul to tears. Saul knows what should have happened. Any time a person gets the chance to attack and kill his enemy, he does it! Saul knows that he would have. But David has let Saul go unharmed. David’s grace and mercy leads Saul to proclaim David as more righteous than him. It also leads Saul to confessing that his actions are bad and David’s are good. Saul finds himself blessing David and acknowledging David as the future king of Israel. With this acknowledgement, all Saul can do is ask David to be kind to his descendants and his family. It was a good request, for it was common practice in the Ancient Near East for new kings to kill the entire family of old kings. What I find interesting is that Saul does not ask David to spare his own life. For a split second, it seems like Saul is accepting the fate he deserves for his harsh treatment on David: his life. David grants Saul’s wish. He kind of has to. It’s very similar to the covenant David made with Jonathan.

The last verse of 1 Samuel 24 ends the chapter in an interesting way. It states that Saul went home, but David returned to hiding. Let’s start with Saul. This verse seems to actually be further proof that Saul’s change of heart was legitimate. Saul did not kill David on the spot, nor give him a head start just to pursue him further. Instead, Saul went home, like it’s all over. It seems like Saul has stopped hunting David. David, on the other hand, does not go home. David goes back into hiding. It would seem like David doesn’t trust Saul. But you can’t blame him. Remember, Saul threw a spear twice at David, and David tried to go back like nothing happened. But after the third time, David gave up and left. David’s already made the mistake of hanging around Saul longer than he should have and outstaying his welcome. This time, even if it’s just to be on the cautious side, David is staying his distance.

Alright, now let’s get our T.I.S. thinking caps on. So first, let’s see what God does as the main character. While the narrator makes no description of God moving, the people within the story do notice it. First, David’s men state that God has given Saul into David’s hands by leaving Saul so vulnerable. Second, David mentions God a lot, and each mention reveals something about God. David reminds his men, as well as the reader, that God did indeed anoint Saul, so he should still be treated as God’s anointed one. Next, David repeats his men’s philosophy to Saul: Saul was left so vulnerable because God has given David Saul. Then, near the end of his speech, David declares God to be the one who judges and the one who avenges. That right there, as found in 1 Samuel 24:12, is the key verse for this chapter. That’s what the reader needs to learn about God in this chapter that God is the one who judges and the one who avenges, or punishes.

The judge and punisher is not to be man, and David is the example of that. Just as David’s men point out, God has delivered Saul into David’s hands and has left Saul wide open for attack. God allows David to do whatever he pleases with Saul. I think that David must have recognized that this must be a test from God. Will David take matters into his own hands, or will he surrender that to the Lord? Previously, as seen in 1 Samuel 21, the reader would expect David to take matters into his own hand. But now, David has changed, and God is molding him into the person God wants him to be. Here, we learn that a man after God’s heart does not take judging or seeking revenge into his own hands, but relies on God for justice.

Therefore, the reader is invited to do the same thing. The Christian who wants to sanctify his or her life will learn to love his or her enemies and do good to them. It could be anybody. It could be the co-worker who always blames you for the problems. It could be the classmate who picks on you and bullies you. It could be the former friend who made you look bad. It could be the terrorist in the Middle East who hates your country. It could be the politician from the political party you oppose who just got elected into office. It should even be the murderers, rapists and robbers, whether they have committed crimes directly against you or not. God asks us not to seek revenge against these people, for revenge shows hate, not love. Revenge is circular, going back and forth, but love can end that. So we need to love our enemies. C.S. Lewis had a lot of good ideas for loving your enemy in his book Mere Christianity. Lewis said that a good start to loving your enemies is to something kind for them, even if you don’t feel like it. The more you do those nice, kind things, the more the negatives feelings will go away and positive feelings will replace them. I couldn’t agree more. So if someone curses at you or calls you a name, give a compliment or two back. If someone wrongs you, or seeks revenge on you, do not seek revenge back. Instead, do something nice back. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is for Christians this is how Jesus taught us to live counter-culturally in Matthew 5:44-47. It’s easy to teach loving family and friends, but really, that makes Christians no different from non-Christians because non-Christians even do that. What makes Christians stick out and be salt of the earth and the light of the world is that we love everyone, including our enemies. And don’t worry if an injustice comes from loving you enemies. Remember that the Lord God is the one who judges and avenges, so we can trust in him to do so.

But this isn’t the last we’ve heard about loving our enemies. We’re going to get a similar message out of the next chapter. David will once again be faced with taking vengeance into his own hands. Will David make the right choice again?

1 Samuel 23: F.R.O.G.

Christians are known for acronyms about their faith. The most famous is W.W.J.D., which stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” A lesser but still famous one makes a word: F.R.O.G. I personally have heard it two ways, and the only difference is what the F stands for. Some Christians say, “Fully Rely of God,” while other Christians say, “Faithfully Rely of God.” Either way, I believe both combine to make a powerful message. The Christian needs to fully and faithfully rely on God for everything, from the basic needs of life to God’s great promises. David makes a good example of what it means to fully and faithfully rely on God, making David a F.R.O.G.

David receives word that Keilah is under attack by the Philistines. Keilah is located in the region of Judah, less than 3 miles from the cave of Adullam, which is probably why David received the news so quickly. Keilah is a fortified city on some of Judah’s richest land, so it’s a prime city for any kingdom, and the Philistines want it. Not only were they trying to conquer the city, but they were also stealing the harvest! David seriously has to beg the question, “Shall I go attack the Philistines?” His focuses right now are on keeping himself and his men alive. Does he have the time to help his fellow people (not only are the Keilahites Israelites, but also from the tribe of Judah)? Of course! Even though David’s on the run, he has to still be the king as God anointed him. When a king’s people are in danger, the king is expected to help them and save them. King David needs to help and save his people in Keilah.

There’s only one problem. The men following David have become tired traveling from place to place . Not only are weary, but also scared. Running from the mad Saul and his small band of men is already scary enough, the men might not have the courage to face a full foreign army. So David inquires of the Lord. This is nothing new. Good leaders, like the judges Ehud, Deborah and Gideon, first inquired of the Lord before going into battle, and only went in if they knew the Lord would provide victory. David follows that example. David inquires the Lord. Since Abiathar isn’t with David yet (I see verse 6 as a sequential clause and not a parenthetical clause. After David reclaims Keilah, then Abiathar comes to David.), so most likely David inquired the Lord through the prophet Gad. God assures and re-assures David that he will win, and does he! Not only do they win, they take the Philistine’s livestock, too! Even when David is on the run, God uses his king to bring salvation to his people.

But there’s no rest for David and his men. Saul hears the same news as David, but he hears David is in the city. Now when Saul hears the same news, the proper response would be to also to inquire of the Lord and save the town in the Lord’s name. But all Saul sees is an opportunity to trap his enemy in a gated community. So Saul calls up his men to prepare them to attack once David is done. Saul doesn’t care about his nation’s welfare, but about seeking his own person vengeance.

David receives the news of Saul’s plan, and now he’s worried. He was sure he was doing the right thing by helping his fellow tribe in danger. Now it looks like he’s made himself a sitting duck for Saul. David really needs to inquire of the Lord. David whips out the big guns. Not only does he call in a priest, but asks the priest to bring in the ephod, a headpiece used for priests during important duties and ceremonies. David asks the Lord whether or not Saul will come, and if the Keilah’s citizens will hand David over to Saul. David seems to know the answer, and the Lord affirms: Saul will, and the people of Keilah will. You might think, “How could Keilah hand over their fellow Judahites, especially after they saved Keilah?” Even if Keilah is grateful, they also fear Saul because they still recognize him as their king. Also keep in mind that Saul is treating poorly anyone associated with David. For their own safety, they have to turn over David. So David takes six hundred men and moves on.

David and the six hundred men go to Desert of Ziph. Saul and his men pursue David and his men into the desert, but they can never catch up to David. Why? The Bible simply says, “because God did give David into his hands.” Clearly we saw God’s favor left Saul and came to David because God helps David run away, but God does not help Saul catch David. Even Jonathan comes to David and confirms this, announcing that David will be king over Israel. At the most, Jonathan can only be second to David. It would seem, though, the one who would need more assurance is Jonathan. Jonathan once against needs a covenant to be established between David and Jonathan. Jonathan knows it’s God’s will for David to be king, and that means David will be king, and there’s no stopping it. Jonathan just wants to make sure that David will not steamroll over Jonathan when he becomes king. At the end of this last recorded meeting between David and Jonathan, the Bible simply says, “Jonathan went home.” The text makes it clear that Jonathan wants to nothing to do with Saul’s hunt for David. And from context clues like those found in 1 Samuel 20, Saul doesn’t want anyone in his army that’s not zealous about hunting down David.

Saul does have allies, though. Currently, both Saul and David, with their respective men, are in the Desert of Ziph. When the Ziphites hear Saul is in the Desert of Ziph, they fear the same fear that Keilah fears: Saul will treat them poorly if they do not hand over information about David. So the Ziphites meet up with Saul in Gibeah and provide Saul with the exact location of David’s hiding spot. With great irony, Saul proclaims, “The Lord bless you!” First of all, Saul has no power to claim the Lord’s blessing since the Lord left him. Second, it is hardly the Lord’s blessing to betray the Lord’s anointed one. In fact, it’s the opposite. Now anyone would think that the exact location is good enough, but that’s no enough for Saul. Saul wants to know what the area is like so he can plan the perfect attack. Saul also wants to know David’s daily habits so he knows what to expect.

The Ziphites provide the information that Saul asked for and it’s exactly what Saul needed. The rest of 1 Samuel 23 is a chapter is a cat-and-mouse chase of Saul and David, with Saul tailing David very up close. And it seems like Saul comes close, very close, to actually capturing David and winning this whole chase. But just as Saul is coming in for the win, a messenger delivers word to Saul that the Philistines are invading Israel! I bet Saul wanted to finish his pursuit and capture David, but Saul realized that at that present time, he didn’t have to worry about David taking the kingdom from him, but rather he had to worry about the Philistines taking the kingdom from him! Saul leaves and David lives to fight another day. Both David and the author of the book of Samuel wants you to recognize that David was spared by God’s providence, so David names the place Sela Hammahlekoth, which means “Rock of Parting” or “Rock of Escape.” It was there Saul parted from David, and David escaped Saul.

Do you see how much David has changed in the past few chapters? In 1 Samuel 21, the reader sees David making back-up plans to protect himself, just in case God doesn’t show up. Now, in 1 Samuel 23, the reader sees David inquiring of the Lord with every decision he makes. David is consulting prophets and priests. David moves exactly as the Lord tells him. God rewards it by answering him and protecting him from Saul. Through this chapter, the reader sees how David went from fully relying on himself to fully relying on God. The chapter invites the reader to make the same decision. Do not rely on yourself to move yourself along in life. Inquire of the Lord to see where the Lord wants you. If you have trouble figuring that out on your own, consult prophets, pastors and mentors. When you do that, you’ll find out that God provides all your needs, and he’ll give you the best life you can have. Then, you will be like David, and be a F.R.O.G.

1 Samuel 23:11,12

1 Samuel 22: Taking It Personally

What does King Saul and Osama bin Laden have in common? Do you think you know the answer to my riddle? Read through 1 Samuel 22. Then read through what I wrote in 1 Samuel 22. Hopefully by then you’ll know the answer. But before we talk about Saul, let’s talk first about David so we can set the scene.

David doesn’t stay long in Gath. Shortly after Gath, David goes to Adullum. Adullum is located on the right on the border of Israel and Philistine, on the Philistine side, near Gath and Bethlehem. Since it’s so close to Bethlehem, word reaches David’s family that David is hiding in a cave at Adullum and they go to see him. As the text tells us, David’s family might not be going just to see about David’s well-being, but also to hide themselves. For shortly after, other refugees who are distressed, discontent or in debt with Saul follow David’s family to the cave. Apparently Saul’s degrading sanity has created quite a few enemies. When they see David, a natural leader, also becomes an enemy of Saul, they all flock to David to lead them. This may be a start of a small revolution.

All these Israelites flocking to one cave will naturally bring attention. So David moves his family and friends to Mizpah in Moab. David approaches the King of Moab and asks for permission to leave his parents there, and the king accepts. Why does the king take care of this Israelite’s family? Some have suggested that since David’s great-grandmother and Jesse’s grandmother, Ruth, is a Moabite, the king considers them partial Moabites and partial citizens. But most likely, the King of Moab believes in the phrase, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” When the king finds out David is an enemy of King Saul, he is more than happy to help David. So David drops his family off with the king, and he heads for a stronghold in Mizpah. A stronghold is some kind of fort. So David bunkers down in Mizpah.

The only problem with this is that David still isn’t showing the greatest of faith. He’s moved from just one foreign country to the next, and now that’s he’s in a new country, he just hides in a fort. David is doing his own thing for protection; he’s still not fully relying on God. This isn’t the proper behavior for the future king. So in verse 5, God sends the prophet Gad to call David out on this. The prophet Gad tells David to not stay in the stronghold at Moab, but to go back to Judah. God doesn’t want David to flee the land God promised he would rule over, but God wants him to claim his kingdom. David gets the message, and he turns his thinking around. No longer is David going to flee and hide on his own will. David will trust in God for protection, so David will go back to the land God has promised that he will rule over. He starts out heading for a forest just south of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, back in the region of Judah, Saul receives report that David has re-entered Israel. The reader can tell from the context of the text that Saul has been searching for David all throughout Israel, so in human terms, what David did was fairly smart. His life was in danger being in the land, and so he fled the land. But now instead of flight, David is going to fight. But back to Saul. Saul calls all his officials together, who are Benjaminites. Remember that Saul too is a Benjaminiate. Saul’s close officials were all related to him. David is the son of Jesse, which makes both from the tribe of Judah. Saul begins making this a family thing. Saul rheotorically asks his men why they have left the tribe of Benjamin to side with someone from Judah. What’s he saying is, “I have given you such how positions because you are family. Do you really think life would be better for you if David was your king?” Saul attempts to guilt trip his officials to making them feel bad about not keeping Saul informed. Saul also attempts to guilt trip his officials to cough up any information they might have, but they don’t seem to know any more information than Saul does.

This is where Doeg the Edomite finds his opportunity. The reader meets Doeg the Edomite in 1 Samuel 21. He’s the one watching Ahimilech and David conversing. The reader might also might remember Doeg is being detained. In the last blog, I honestly said that we don’t know why or how Doeg was detained, but whatever way it is, it’s not good. So Doeg sees his opportunity to get in good with the king by ratting David out. Not only does he rat David out, but he rats out Ahimelech, too, as the one who gave David food, weapons and a blessing from God. Saul takes that mean to a rebellion forming against him. So Saul responds by having all the priests from Nob come before him.

Saul brings forth accusations of conspiracy, rebellion and treason for siding with David. His rhetorical question asks Ahimelech for a defense. Ahimelech doesn’t defend himself first, but rather David. He defends David five times with five descriptions: Saul’s servant, loyal, Saul’s son-in-law, captain of Saul’s body guard, and highly respected in Saul’s household. Just one of those would be a good defense, but all five of them clearly don’t sound like an enemy of the king. Then Ahimelech goes into the defense of himself. Ahimelech describes his meeting with David as a regular ordeal. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again. Ahimelech also states that even if David’s intentions were a rebellion, he would have no knowledge of it, for David did not inform him of any such thing. Here is where David’s deceitful lie in 1 Samuel 21:3 is helpful. Ahimelech can honestly and truthfully say that he does not know David’s intention. Actually, if you remember 1 Samuel 21:3, David said he was on a mission from the king. If Ahimelech takes that seriously, for all Ahimelech knows, what David is doing is for Saul!

Ahimelech’s defense won’t work, for Saul has already made up his mind. Saul pronounces a judgment using an infinite absolute. In Hebrew, when an infinite absolute is used, an infinite verb is used next to the same conjugated verb to intensify the verb. If you were to literally translate the phrase the NIV translates as “You will surely die,” it would literally translate to “dying you shall die.” The dying is what Saul intensifies. As the rest of the verse hints, Saul is going to kill everyone and everything in the town of Nob.

Immediately Saul gives the command to his guards, but his guards don’t move a muscle. Some have suggested that these men don’t want to carry out the order because they once followed David, and they did not want to harm anyone who helped David. But I see a better reason that fits the immediate and near context. The guards probably didn’t want to kill the priests because of their sacred role. The priests spoke to God on the people’s behalf. The priests were the representatives and the messengers from the people to God. They didn’t want to send a bad message. Because of the priests sacred role, the Israelite guards might have seen the priests as righteous or holy, and to kill a righteous or holy man would be a much greater sin. I believe this is the correct view because I think this is what Saul saw in his men, and so he turned to Doeg, an Edomite. Since Doeg is an Edomite and not an Israelite, he doesn’t see what the big deal is about killing a priest. Furthermore, Doeg is still trying to get in good with King Saul. He will do anything to get in good with Saul, even if it’s mass murder. Besides, this would good revenge for the town of Nob detaining him in the last chapter. So Doeg kills all 85 priests. The author mentions the ephod as a reminder that these priests were ordained by God. Not only did Saul kill all 85 priests, but their women and their animals as well.

But Doeg doesn’t kill everyone. There is a single survivor. His name is Abiathar. He is a son of Ahimelech and the grandson of Ahitub. He is a priest just as much as his father and his grandfather. He escapes, and, being a fugitive of Saul himself, goes to find all the other fugitives, who are with David. He reports everything he saw and heard, and everything Saul did. For the first time, David has to deal with the results of his doubts. If David would have trusted the Lord more, he wouldn’t have asked the priest for food or for weapons, and maybe Saul wouldn’t have killed all the priests. David has to face what he’s done, and he does the right thing. He confesses that it is his fault, and he repents. He takes responsibility for the death of Nob. He even tries to make it up to Abiathar by taking him in, providing shelter and protection. At this point, David realizes the consequences of his wrong actions, and seeks to do the right thing by seeking what God wants him to do.

So what does King Saul and Osama bin Laden have in common? On May 2, 2011, a Navy Seal time raided bin Laden’s compound and killed bin Laden. Upon further inspection of the compound he was staying in, the place was full of pornography. Pornography is a sin in Islam just as much as in Christianity, deserving God’s punishment. Then what is an Islamic extremist terrorist doing with a pornography stash? I believe the answer is simple. At some point, bringing death to America was no longer a spiritual for bin Laden. It was no longer about Allah bringing judgment and punishment to America. It was purely for political reason, whatever those reasons may be. King Saul was in the same camp. In the beginning, he rivalry with David could have been spiritual. David’s anointing was a private matter among his family. No one else knew about the anointing. Saul could have argued that he was God’s anointed king, not David. He could have argued that God was on his side, not David’s. But the minute he ordered death to the priests, it was no longer spiritual, but political. It was no longer Saul vs. David, but Saul vs. God. Saul wants to make sure he is king and his family is dynasty, even if it is a direct defiance against God’s order. But the truth is when Samuel anoints Saul in 1 Samuel 16, any time Saul is against David, he is against God. But Saul goes from indirectly against God to directly against God. With David trusting more in God, and Saul trusting less, the outcomes will become even more obvious then they are now.

But it’s not just David and God. It’s the priests. It’s those in debt. It’s even the officials who are clueless. What do they all have in common? Saul claims they are all against him. On the opposite side, you have Doeg, the Edomite. Doeg’s a bad egg, but Saul treats him well. Why? He does what Saul asks. See what is happening? Saul is making this rivalry between David and himself person. Either you’re on Saul’s side or David’s side. The lines will be drawn, and each and every Israelite will have to choose a side. Those who will follow Saul will realize they are following a selfish madman. Those who follow David will realize they are following God.

1 Samuel 21: Just In Case

What does the phrase “just in case” mean? You’re not going to be able to find a definition in a typical dictionary, for a typical diction defines words, not phrases. But the Free Dictionary by Farlex (thefreedictionary.com) does have definitions for phrases, and even idioms, such as the idiom “just in case.” The Free Dictionary defines the idiom “just in case” to mean “in the event that…” or “only if something happens.” These definitions are quite true, but to me, they seem a bit broad. I thought about the phrase myself. I realized that a lot of time I hear or say the phrase “just in case” it’s a back plan. I bring an umbrella just in case it rains. I buy extra batteries just in case the batteries I’m using die. I pack a snack just in case I have to skip lunch. See what I mean? I plan to have lunch, but if something were to come up, my back up plan is to snack while working. I plan to have a dry walk back and forth from my classrooms to my car, but if it were to rain, my backup plan is to use an umbrella to keep me dry. Then I thought about it more, and I started to think that the phrase “just in case” does subtly and subconsciously reflects doubt. I might not see a cloud in the sky in the sky, and the weatherman could report a clear day, but I doubt both the weather report and my vision, it will be reflected in grabbing an umbrella. The phrase “just in case” could display how much you trust something or someone.

When you grew up in church and heard the stories of David, it’s very possible you were told that, besides David’s 2 sins (Bathsheba and the census), David was a righteous and upright man, always pleasing God. But that’s just not human. In our human nature, we don’t just sin, get over it and move on. Some of the “worst” sins to get over are the ones that habitual and addicting, the ones the sinful nature wants to keep going back to. Such examples would be envy, wrath, pride, lust and doubt. That last one, doubt, is the key one when it comes to David. I am going to argue that in 1 Samuel 22, David doubts God by not trusting God for help in his time of need. Instead of going to God, he goes after material possessions for help. I am going show that David does this at least 5 times in this chapter: 3 times in Nob and 2 times in Gath. I also know that this viewpoint isn’t the most popular viewpoint, although there are scholars who do agree with me. So at the end, I will show an alternative interpretation to the events of 1 Samuel 21.

Let’s set the scene before we go into these doubts. After saying goodbye to Jonathan, David heads to Nob, a Levitical city just northeast of Jerusalem, where priests and Levites lived and worshipped. There David meets Ahimelech. From the context of 1 Samuel 21-22, the readers gets the idea that Ahimelech is the priest running worship at Nob. When Ahimelech sees David, the Bible says Ahimelech trembles in fear. Perhaps Ahimelech knows that Saul considers David and enemy and Saul is hunting down David and anyone in between. Maybe Ahimelech is think about how David went to Naioth, the home of the prophets, and almost endangered the prophets there. Surely Ahimelech doesn’t want David bringing the same danger to the priests. So Ahimelech asks David why he’s alone with no company. On the surface, it seems to be a simple question. But rhetorically, Ahimelech asks, “What sneaky business are you here to do if you don’t want any witnesses around?”

Doubt #1: Lying about his purpose. The first instance of doubt we see is right away in 1 Samuel 21:2. David creates this deceptive lie, in which he claims that the king sent him on a secret mission, and he is meeting with his men at a secret place. This is clearly a lie, for it is quite opposite of the truth. King Saul did not send David to do anything. If anything, Saul sent men on a mission for David. Saul and David could not be any further apart socially. Why couldn’t David tell the truth and say, “I am running away, for I am hiding from Saul.” David’s lie shows David’s distrust. David did not trust the priest, not even a holy priest. He must have been afraid that the priest would report to Saul his whereabouts if he told the priest where he was hiding, or he might have thought the priest would not help if he was fugitive of the king. What makes this lie so bad, the worst, is that he isn’t just lying to anyone, but a priest, who is a holy man working for a holy God. It’s almost as bad as lying to God Himself. Maybe David lying to the priest demonstrates that David not only doesn’t trust the priest, but doesn’t trust God.

Doubt #2: Food Provisions. After stating his purpose, David quickly asks for five loaves of bread, and if the priest doesn’t have that, whatever food he can scramble together will do. Ahimelech replies that he does not have any household bread, but it does have the consecrated bread. Every week the priests were to offer 12 loaves of unleavened, fine flour bread. A fresh batch of bread was placed on the table of showbread at the beginning of the week, and it would remain there until the end of the week. At the end of the week, the priests would come together to eat the bread together, and a new batch of bread would be put in its place. This bread was to be only eaten by the priest, for it symbolically represented the fellowship God had with the priests. David was well aware of this. David should have said (all of it or some of it), “Far be it from me to take the consecrated bread that is meant only for the Lord and his priests! To take that bread would be like stealing from the Lord Himself! I will not take the bread because I know that the Lord will provide food along the way. And if he does not, then he will give me the strength to not feel the pains of hunger.” But that’s not what David said. Instead, David pretty much says, “That’ll work. Good enough.” Then he proceeds to take the bread. Why does David take the bread? Doubt. David does not trust the Lord will provide food for him, so he’s got to fetch his own food. Even if he does believe God will provide the food, he takes the bread, just in case God doesn’t. Not the best of faith.

Now before you get to the bottom, both you and I can already suspect what my opponents would say. They would bring up that Jesus used this story, in Matthew 12:3,4 and in Mark 2:25,26, to explain that the disciples aren’t breaking God’s Law by picking wheat on the Sabbath. I’m not going to give details on how my opponents would use this passage to defend their view, but I will take the time to use this story to defend my point. Actually, I’m not going to use it to defend my point, but I will use it to counter-argue the typical defense we might be expecting. Simply, I will say that David is not sinning when he takes the bread. That’s the point Jesus is making, and I will also make the same point: David is not sinning. But on the same subject on the opposite end, I’m not ready to say David is making a great act of faith either. A great act of faith would be turning down the consecrated bread and depending on God and His promises to sustain you (see Deut. 8:9. It is repeated by Jesus in Matt 4:4 and Luke 4:4, but David would have only known the Deut 8:9 passage). In a way, what I’m saying is David didn’t do anything wrong, but David didn’t do the right thing either. The space between the wrong thing and the right thing is doubt.

Before we move on any further, pay attention to verse 7. In the English language and literature, it’s known as an aside, but in the Hebrew language and literature it’s known as a parenthetical clause. It’s when the author wants to put information into the narrative that doesn’t belong in any special place in the narrative. This parenthetical clause mentions there’s a witness to all this. His name is Doeg. Doeg is an Edomite. Edomites are the descendants of Edom, better known to us as Esau, the brother Jacob/Israel. So you’d think the Edomites would see Israel as their cousins. Actually, you’d be wrong. Since Israelites wandering in the desert, as recorded by Numbers, the Israelites and Edomites have been enemies. We even see them battling each other in 1 Samuel 14. Now 1 Samuel 21:7 tells us that Doeg the Edomite was detained. Now the Hebrew word is netsar, and scholars debate what do with the word in both Hebrew and English. What does netsar mean and what does detain mean? Some scholars think that Doeg is an Edomite whose converted to the Israelite’s religion and become a legal immigrant to Israel. Other scholars believe that Saul captured Doeg as a prisoner of war in the Israelites’ battle in 1 Samuel 14. I personally believe the second to be the more plausible answer. The aside also tells us that Doeg was the head shepherd of Saul’s flocks. In those days, it was naturally for kings to own large flocks of animals to tailor to their personal needs. Of course, the king himself would not take care of them, so he would hire shepherds to take care of the animals. Doeg was the head of the shepherds, so he had close ties to Saul. What’s Saul doing trusting an Edomite, no one knows. This could be a sign of Saul falling even further away from God. But the text wants us to know that he was witnessing the exchange between David and Ahimelech. That’s going to be important for the next chapter, for there we will find out Doeg is a bad egg.

Doubt #3: Protection. Next David asks for some kind of weapon to protect him. Ahimelech informs David that there are no weapons there but the sword of Goliath, which David had placed there himself. David quickly takes it. Once again, I ask, “Where is David’s faith?” Remember we said that in 1 Samuel 17 David clearly demonstrates that victory is given through the Lord and not through earthly weapons. David even supports that himself when he turns down the king’s armor (which probably also included a sword) for his regular clothes because He is confident that the Lord will bring him victory. The fact that David insists he needs a sword shows that David doesn’t have that confidence that he had when he face Goliath. He needs a sword, just in case the Lord doesn’t protect.

Doubt #4: Fleeing to Gath. This doesn’t take much explanation if you know the geography and the history. Israel is God’s chosen people in the Promised Land. Gath is the land of the Philistines, the enemy of God’s people who keep invading the Promised Land. Gath is also the hometown of Goliath, and even might be a capital of Philistia. No good, God-fearing Israelite would dare leave Israel for that land. That’s exactly what David does. He leaves the Promised Land, God’s land, for a foreign land. To me, this shows doubt. To me, it seems like David does not trust God to provide him protection in the kingdom that has been promised to him. So he leaves everyone and everything behind to tread in the enemies territory.

Doubt #5: Acting insane. David goes to Gath, hoping that no one will notice him and that everyone will leave him alone. It’s hard, though, to try to keep yourself hidden in the hometown of the champion you just slaughtered. Everyone immediately recognizes David as the one the sing about in Israel. So much for leaving your past life behind. Now David fears that the Philistines will also seek to kill David in order to avenge Goliath. So David comes up with a brilliant plan: to act like an insane madman. In Bible times, if someone were to act like an insane madman, people would automatically assume he’s demon-possessed and would want to avoid such evil. David acts insane so people think he’s demon-possessed and will leave him alone. I hope that you see where this is going. This cannot be the godly response to danger. Instead of trusting in God, David relies in a deceptive act to keep him safe. What makes it even worse is that David acts like there’s demons inside of him, not the Holy Spirit. David should be living a life that lets the Holy Spirit shine, not hide it.

Alright, as promised, now I will quickly give my opponents objections to my 5 doubts that David has. Their objections will be followed by what they see in those 5 sections.

#1: Lying about his purpose. While David may not have told the full truth, he did not lie. He was generic. David doesn’t say “King Saul” or even “Saul,” David just says “king.” Many times in the psalms David refers to the Lord God as king. So David might be saying he’s sent on a secret mission from King Yahweh because many times in the Bible both Yahweh and Jesus have asked people to keep secrets to themselves.

#2: Food provisions. David was not sinning by taking the bread. The bread had already completed its week-long life cycle as an offering to God, and now it’s up to the priests to decide what to do with it. The priest Ahimelech decides it’s alright for David and his men to eat of it as long as they act like priests; they must be ceremonially clean. Just as God used this bread to provide food to the priests, so God used this bread to provide food to David. Besides, Jesus mentions this story in Matthew 12:3,4 and Mark 2:25,26. If David had done something wrong, would Jesus really use this story as part of an argument? Speaking of Jesus, these few verses provide foreshadowing. Remember that Jesus was prophet, priest and king. If Jesus is to be the second, last and final David, David needs to foreshadow Jesus as prophet, priest and king. This is the priest part, as David acts like a priest.

#3: Protection. When Goliath’s sword enters the holy sanctuary, the sword becomes God’s property. Thus the priest giving David the sword is God’s way of providing protection of David. God provides protection by giving David the sword of Goliath. (Something similar to that could be said for point 2 on food provisions.

#4: Fleeing to Gath. This is just common sense. King Saul only has control over Israel; he does not have control in Philistia. If David goes to Philistia, he doesn’t have to worry about Saul because Saul does not reach him. Besides, leaving the Promise Land does not mean leaving God or leaving His will. Even Abraham and Jacob, with their families, left the Promised Land for Egypt when things got bad.

#5: Acting insane. A deceptive act is nothing new for the Israelites. We see the Israelite forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob deceiving left and right. Just like David deceived Achish to keep himself safe, so Abraham and Isaac deceived the king of Gerar, telling the king their wife was their sister, in order to keep themselves safe.

Now you’ve heard both sides, and both have given their reasons. With the reasons, you can choose which one to believe. But let me give you a few more reasons why I believe it’s best to see them as doubts. First, I want to remind you that I’m not suggesting that David sinned or is doing anything sinful. But at the same, it’s not that David’s doing the right thing or the good thing. He’s somewhere in the middle, struggling with doubts, having backup plans, just in case God doesn’t come through. So it doesn’t mess with the character of David, being a man after God’s heart. Second, there are application reasons. If you believe David was doing the good, right thing, then David’s example is to be followed: it’s ok to lie and deceive, take from God when he doesn’t provide, and flee from all danger. Those applications don’t seem Biblical. In fact, God seems to want the opposite from us. Third, take into consideration discourse analysis. Think about where we are in David narrative part of 1 Samuel. Some scholars seem 1 Samuel 21:10-15 and 1 Samuel 22:1-5 as a pivotal turning point in David’s story in 1 Samuel. David is faced with the question “In what or whom am I trusting in?” and he makes the pivotal change for the better. You’ll just have to wait for 1 Samuel 22 to see how David does that.

1 Samuel 20: BFF

BFF is one of those acronyms that originated from the internet. It means “best friends forever.” Best friends are commonly talked about on the internet. There’s even a bunch of best friend jokes. One such example is “A friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be standing next to you saying ‘Dude that was awesome!’” 1 Samuel has already established David and Jonathan as best friends. 1 Samuel 20 will show how close the two best friends are.

Even though Saul is in the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, prophesying, David knows he can’t stay there too long until Saul catches up with him. So he takes the time to go back to Jonathan and meet up with him. David expresses in rhetorical questions the same proofs Jonathan gave to his father Saul when persuading Saul not to kill David. David has done nothing sinful, evil or wrong, so why is Saul trying to punish like he is guilty of some crime? Jonathan insists that his father is planning no such thing because he claims that his father tells him everything. So if Saul were trying to kill David, Jonathan claims that Saul would have told him. In verse 3, the NIV Bible says “David took an oath…” In this context, it doesn’t mean making a promise or a covenant. It’s just a statement saying that what he is saying is true. In other words, it’s like David is saying in our language, “I swear you father knows…” What does David swear Saul knows? David swears Saul knows how close David and Jonathan are, and that Saul won’t tell Jonathan any thoughts he has about David, in fear Jonathan will rat out Saul to David. So now Jonathan wants a way to prove his loyalty to David.

David concocts a plan to expose Saul. First, David won’t show up for the New Moon festival; he’ll be in hiding. If Saul to were to ask for his whereabouts, Jonathan would simply answer that David went home to celebrate the festival with his family. If Saul was OK with it, then David is safe. But if Saul got angry about it, then David is in danger. It’s pure genius, if you think about it. David keeps a safe distance from Saul. Jonathan does not have to confront or accuse his father; all he has to do is simply answer about David’s whereabouts when his father asks. Jonathan is about to agree to it when David throws in another clause. David tells Jonathan that Jonathan does indeed find out about guilty wrongdoing David has committed, then Jonathan should at least do the executing himself. On one hand, I think that David asked that simply because he didn’t want to give Saul the pleasure of killing. On another hand, since David mentioned Jonathan’s kindness, David probably believes that if Jonathan were to kill him, Jonathan would be more merciful, while as Saul would torture him. Jonathan cannot agree to that term. But they come across another problem: how will David find out the answer?

Jonathan has a plan for that, but first, he wants more assurance and security about the friendship. Something is about to happen to their friendship. Through David and Jonathan’s plan, Jonathan will expose Saul’s heart toward David. Both David and Jonathan are expecting the worst, and rightfully so. Saul’s hostility towards David will make Saul and David rivals and enemies. As we’ll see, it will put great strain and hostility between not only these men, but their families as a whole. Jonathan wants to make sure that David and his family will always see Jonathan and his family as friends, and never see them as enemies. Both David and Jonathan make covenant, agreeing to do so, and it will be shown in their kindness toward each other.

Now Jonathan explains his plan on how to reveal the answer to David. David is to come out of hiding and go to the rock Ezel (Ezel in Hebrew means “the way” or “the departure”). Jonathan will go out and make it look like he’s practicing shooting his bow and arrow. Jonathan will shoot 3 arrows. If the arrows fall nearby, then David is safe and he can return back. But if the arrows fall far away, then David must leave immediately. Jonathan adds more genius to this plan. In this way, Jonathan can communicate to David the message without talking directly to David and risking David’s life by exposing him. In verse 23, Jonathan closes by once again reminding David that no matter the outcome, their families will always show love and kindness to each other. This promise is very important to Jonathan!

The plan goes into effect in 1 Samuel 20:24. The New Moon Festival begins. The New Moon festival was both a religious and social festival and it is outlined in Numbers 28:11-16. On the day of the full moon, also known as the first day of the month, a burnt offering, a grain offering, a drink offering and a sin offering were to be presented. If anyone wanted to present a peace/fellowship offering, this would be the time to do it. In the following evening, the Israelites would “celebrate” by holding a feast (this tradition was added later. Later on, the Israelites would also get the work day off). Being a religious festival, when Saul sees that David isn’t there the first day, Saul naturally assumes that David made himself unclean because those who are unclean cannot participate in religious festivals (see Leviticus 7:20-21). But then comes the next day, just a plain, old, regular day, where it doesn’t matter whether you’re clean or not. So now Saul is really curious to why David isn’t there. Saul asks Jonathan about David’s whereabouts, knowing that David and Jonathan are good friends. Notice in verse 27 that Saul calls his own son-in-law not by his name, but “the son of Jesse.” Saul is already distancing himself from David emotionally and socially. Jonathan answers verbatim to what he rehearsed: David is celebrating the New Moon still back with his family.

The Bible tells us that not didn’t get just anger. The Bible says Saul’s anger flared up. His anger is like a fire! Saul calls Jonathan, his own son, a “son of a perverse and rebellious woman.” It’s a derogatory insult that attacks the person’s mother and in turn attacks the person. Once again, excuse me for the language, but Saul calls his own son a son of bitch! And as Proverbs 15:1 says, Saul’s harsh word led to Jonathan giving a harsh word to his father. In chapter 19, the reader hears Jonathan calmingly and gently persuading his father. Now Jonathan angrily asks his father to bring forth at least one true accusation against Saul. This harsh word leads to a harsh action. Saul now tries to kill his own son the same way he tries to kill David! Jonathan storms off in anger, but his anger quickly turns to grief. He is so sad, he can’t eat.

Now David’s part of the plan is finished, it’s up to Jonathan’s part of the plan. David place himself exactly where Jonathan told him. Jonathan brings a small boy with him to fetch the arrows he shoots. As the boy is running, Jonathan shoots an arrow beyond him. Pay close attention to what Jonathan says in verses 37 and 38. “Isn’t the arrow beyond you? Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” Jonathan may be saying this to both his arrow boy and David. Saying such words would send the message to David without David having to speak directly to Jonathan. The best part is the message is even conveyed without the boy even knowing what Jonathan is saying and who he’s really saying it too.

Despite the success in communicating the message, Jonathan isn’t satisfied with it. He has to see David one last time because this might be the last time Jonathan sees David, and indeed it is. Jonathan sends the boy away so he can meet up with David. They kiss and cry. Jonathan one more time reminds David of the covenant promise, as this will be the last time Jonathan can remind David.

Now notice that since verse 10. That’s about 30 verses of David not talking. The author did that on purpose. The author is trying to display how vulnerable David is. David has to go in hiding and patiently wait. David has to depend on Jonathan to go through with the plan and bring him valuable information. Most importantly, David has to rely on David to stick to his hand and not turn to his father’s side. David is helpless, and he has to depend on God and his best friend Jonathan to help him.

I hate to do this, but once again, I have to remind you that this in no way means that David and Jonathan are a gay couple. The actions seen in the end 1 Samuel 20 may not be socially acceptable acts for two friends in 21^st century America, but indeed they were in ancient Israel. It is sad that in this time two men can’t be good friends without being gay. David and Jonathan aren’t gay. They are two men who sincerely care for each other and want to see the best happen to each other. This is a sad moment at the end of the chapter because these two best friends are being torn apart, and by the one’s father! Yet as they depart in sadness, both of them cling to the covenant that they made. When this is over, they hope to see each other again with their families. And if they don’t, the one can be certain that the other one will take care of the family. As we all know, how much will Jonathan need that in the future!

One more thing I notice. If you look closely at the covenant David and Jonathan make, Jonathan seems to very certain of David’s future,  but not certain of Jonathan’s own future. Jonathan blesses David left and right, but seems to ask very little of David, just to remember his family. I believe what Jonathan is doing is acknowledging David as the legitimate king of Israel. Don’t believe me? It’s in the covenant blessings Jonathan gives David! Still don’t believe me? Look at  verses 30 and 31. Saul himself announces that Jonathan will never be king as long as David is there, for David will be king. Jonathan’s angry response demonstrates that Jonathan is really OK with it. If Jonathan outlived David, Jonathan would willingly give David the throne. If we’re still looking for proof that David is indeed the legitimate king of Israel, we have another proof: the covenant and testimony of Jonathan.

For anyone looking for an application, I think the best application is that Jonathan models for the reader what a best friend truly is like. A best friend sticks for his/her friend when he/she is right, even when everyone else says he/she is wrong. A best friend helps his/her friend in times of need. A best friend protects his/her friend from harm. Best friends keep promises with each other. Best friends are happy when good things happen to one of the friends. Lastly, best friends stay best friends, even when they are not together. If you ever find yourself struggling with friendships, take a look at the friendship between David and Jonathan. One of the phrases that sticks out to me is that Jonathan “loved David as he loved himself.” Do you love your friends as you love yourself? If you’re not, there’s a good start. I bet if you apply these, you’ll find your friend to be a true BFF.

1 Samuel 19: Brother And Sister Against Father

Discourse Analysis is the act of linking the text at hand with the previous text and the post text. It can be done with verses, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, even whole books. We’re already done a little discourse analysis between 1 Samuel 16 and 1 Samuel 17; now we’re going to do it again between 1 Samuel 18 and 1 Samuel 19. There’s 3 fact you’ll need to remember from 1 Samuel 18. First, Jonathan, Saul’s son, and David are best friends. Second, Michal, Saul’s daughter, is madly in love with David and marries him. Third, Saul has made David his enemy. All 3 of these will add up to conflict, and 1 Samuel 19 shows the reader how the conflict plays out.

By the beginning of chapter 19, Saul is getting impatient with his previous plans. Michal is not a snare to David. The Philistines aren’t harming David. So Saul is done waiting and decides to make a more affirmative action to kill David. In verse 1, Saul commands Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. Now this puts Jonathan at a terrible crossroads. He has 2 choices: either he sides with his father and pursues to kill David, or he sides with his best friend by trying to convince his father to act differently towards David. Clearly, he chose the latter, but don’t think Jonathan is totally turning on his father. Jonathan chooses the second option merely because he does not see David to be a threat, and Jonathan wants to communicate that to his father Saul. But before Jonathan does that, Jonathan first goes to David. He warns David of the immanent danger and he even provides a safe haven for David to hide until Jonathan is done persuading his father.

Then Jonathan goes to persuade his father. His persuasive argument is short and to the point. First, Jonathan points out that David has committed no crime or wrongdoing of any sort, so Saul has no basis to kill him. Second, Jonathan makes Saul aware about how much David has done for both the king and the kingdom. To kill David would be detrimental to both the king the kingdom. Why should Saul kill someone who has done nothing wrong and has done everything right?

The Bible tells the reader in verse 6 that Saul legitimately listened to Jonathan. After hearing Jonathan’s persuasive speech, Saul couldn’t argue with it. Saul had to agree with all of Jonathan’s points. Saul promises on oath that as surely as the Lord lives, so too David will live. Saul seems ready to repentant and ready to reconcile with David, if even for a second. Jonathan gets this feeling, too, so he reports back to David what Saul said and then brings David to Saul. And for a while, it seems like everyone is back where they started. But it only lasts for a short while. 1 Samuel 19:9,10 parallels 1 Samuel 18:10,11 very nicely. Once again, an evil spirit comes upon Saul, and Saul tries to kill David. But this time David isn’t sticking around. He’s leaving.

Up to this point, the first 10 verses of 1 Samuel 19, Jonathan is the main character saving David’s. Now, for the rest of the chapter, it will be Michal.

David flees Saul and heads for his own house. Saul is smart enough to realize this and he sends his own men to lie in wait until morning to kill. Michal, David’s wife, sees the men lying in wait and plans accordingly. During the night, Michal helps David down a window so he can flee. But Michal has to make it look like David is still there. So Michal takes a teraphim, an idol that looks like a human, and puts in the bed to look like David is sleeping there. She even takes goat hair and puts it on the teraphim to make it look like real hair. This does buy David more time, as Saul’s men seem to be fooled the first time around. It would seem that the men went back and reported to Saul that David was sick, and Saul had to say back to them, “Well then bring him in his bed!” When they return, they discover that David is missing. Interesting enough, when Michal is thrown into Saul’s presence to explain her action, she claims that David threatened to kill her if she didn’t let him escape. It is interesting that Michal results to lying and deception in order to save David. Notice that the author of Samuel does not seem to approve or disapprove. The author seems more focused on David’s rough situation and God’s protection of David. What I find interesting is we find Michal going down the same slippery slope as her father David. It also serves to foreshadow what her personality will be like and what her relationship with David will be like.

Where does David go when he escapes? David probably figured he couldn’t go back home, for King Saul would be expecting it and his men might be lying in wait. So he goes to Ramah to seek counsel from Samuel. After all, Samuel is the one who anointed him king. It’s possible that David went to Samuel for any spiritual advice, as any prophet of the day would. So Samuel takes David to Naioth. Some Hebrew scholars believe the name Naioth comes from the same root as the Hebrew word navi, which means “prophet.” This leads those scholars to believe Naioth was a school campus where Samuel trained prophets. Perhaps Samuel and David considered that Saul would figure out that David went to Samuel in Ramah, so both of them moved on to hide David somewhere else. Or maybe Samuel moved David onto Naioth because he knew what would happen next.

Before fully diving into the rest of 1 Samuel 19, once again, we have to take at a look to the word “prophesying.” First off, we need to look at the word in Hebrew, not in English. The Hebrew root word [transliterated] is navi. In this verse tense, it’s niveim. In the simplest term, the definition means “to prophesy.”  Yet depending on verb tense and context, it has a big range. Of course, as you may suspect, the word could mean “prophesy” as “foretelling the future.” It could mean “prophesy” as in “speak the word of God.” It could even mean simply “to be in a prophetic trance” or “to behave like a prophet.” There’s also non-prophesy definitions. It can mean “to rave.” For my translation and interpretation, I’m going to stick with something between the second-to-last and the third-to last answer. The Spirit of God is so strong in this area that anyone who stepped in the area could only praise, worship and glorify God; they can do no evil. That’s the problem Saul and his men have. When they enter the town, they cannot perform the mission they’ve been sent to do, for it’s evil. Saul even tries a second and third time, but it leads to the same result.

Saul must have said to himself, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself,” for Saul himself embarks to find David. In Naioth, Saul gets the same result, but even more. The last verse says that Saul “stripped off his robes.” Now there’s some disagreement among the scholars among what this means. Some scholars suggests the phrase means that Saul stripped himself naked. Other scholars suggest that the robes simply refer to royal robes, so Saul’s not naked, but down to his undergarments. Either way, it has a deep meaning. Once again in the presence of God, Saul’s still not at the great kingly state he used to be at. Instead, the Spirit of God has him strip off his royal garments (and maybe more!). In the Spirit, Saul himself symbolically admits he is no longer the king by removing his kingly robes. Yet when the people see him prophesying, they doubt their doubts. At this point there’s probably some people already leaving Saul’s side for David’s side because the people have seen God work more through David and less through Saul. But now they see Saul prophesying, they might be second guessing themselves and asking, “Is Saul among the prophets?”

Do you see the family conflict now? First, Jonathan had to choose between helping his father hunt down David and saving David from Saul, and he chose to save David. Then Michal helped David escape from her father’s men, and when Saul confronts her, she lies about it. When Saul’s family has to decide between Saul and David, and both choose Saul. But it’s not just family, it’s also Saul’s “co-worker” and “friend” Samuel. Samuel has the Holy Spirit working so hard in Naioth that Saul can’t even do anything himself. God continues to protect David from Saul, and he does it by using those closest to Saul: his family and friends. It just goes to show more that God has left Saul and joined David’s side himself. God is using those closest to Saul to protect those against him. Let me close this entry with quote from Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel. Because sometimes being a follower of God means turning against your family.

Luke 12:53,14:26-

“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law… If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”

1 Samuel 18: Keeping Your Enemies Clsoer

Back in ancient most kings kept some kind of journal, memoirs or annals (a record of historical events), written by either king himself or dictated by a scribe. Imagine King Saul wrote on these. Imagine he wrote an entry right after the events of 1 Samuel 16 & 17. It might sound something like this…

Dear Journal,

Remember how I got a little worked up about Samuel telling me that both God and himself were leaving my presence? Well I am happy to tell you that I believe there’s nothing to worry about because I got a new man to help me with all my problems! His name is David. He’s already done so much for me now. His harp playing helps me get rid of the anxiety and depression, as well as those chronic headaches. And when I was faced with a giant enemy that I thought I could not defeat in battle, he steps up and wins the battle for me. What a great guy! Everyone loves this guy and so do I. With David around, I don’t need Samuel. Things can only get better
Saul

An entry like this would accurately represent King Saul’s feelings for David at this point. King Saul loves him, and David makes him happy. But we’re going to see that quickly change.

Shortly after meeting up with King Saul, David meets up with Jonathan. At that point, the NIV says that David and Jonathan becomes “one in spirit.” More literal Bible translations say the two were “knit at the soul.” More paraphrased Bible translations simply say there had an instant bond between the two. What I want to make clear is they were not gay and did not see each other as gay lovers. It’s sad that in today’s world a man cannot show love to another man without being accused of being gay (just go to any Lord of the Rings fan fiction website and you’ll see how many fanfics tell stories a gay Frodo and a gay Samwise in love with each other). Both of these men were God-fearing men and neither of them would even think of such a thing. What we do see hear is best friends, best friend so close they are almost like brothers. In fact, that might be a very accurate description. The only other time the Hebrew phrase the literal translations translate “knit at the soul” is in Genesis 44:30, where Jacob is described as being “knit at the soul” with Benjamin. 1 Samuel 18:2 further supports this idea because at this point Saul has taken David into his own household. So Jonathan makes him feel welcomed at his home by treating him like family, like a brother. Jonathan loved David so much that Jonathan gave David his robe, tunic, sword, bow and belt. This is more than just best friends swapping clothes, like girls do. These articles of clothes most likely are royal clothing given from the king to the prince. It’s not clear whether or not David has yet confided to Jonathan that David has been anointed to be king, but the symbolism remains the same: it’s another sign David is the next king.

After Saul saw David slay the Philistine champion, Goliath, Saul must have figured that if David could defeat the Philistine champion, he can defeat any Philistine soldier. So King Saul gives David a high rank in the army to fight more Philistines. Everyone is pleased with this move, including the king’s officers. In return, David continues giving Saul more wins and victories.

After killing the Philistine champion and chasing the rest of the Philistines back to their home, the Israelites begin the march to their homes. As they approach their home, the women came out to form a make-shift parade. Following the customs of the day, the women would greet their men back from battle, and they would sing and dance to instruments in songs reflecting the winning army’s success. Saul was probably very use to this from his previous successful battles, and he looked forward to another success song. But to his dismay, he hears a song he’s not use to. The women sing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” Now if you take a good look at this song, this song technically is not meant to insult Saul, or anyone for that matter. The song is probably meant to point out that Saul and David make a great team, and together they accomplish great things. But Saul, buried in his selfishness, cannot get passed the fact David has a higher kill rate than he does. In the Hebrew Bible, the best translation of Saul’s reaction is probably “displeasing in his eyes” (although some commentaries say “was evil in his eyes). Most literal Bible translations follow suit, translating it “displeased him.” I like word the 1984 edition of the NIV chose: galled. Merriam-Webster says that “galled” is just a really fancy way of saying “irritated” or “vexed.” A lot of paraphrases drop the phrase altogether, assuming the phrase parallel each other synonymously. But galled brings Saul’s anger up to the next level. Saul is angry, troubled, distressed and irritated. Saul rhetorically and ironically asks, “What more can he get but the kingdom?” Saul already sees the people are behind him, like he is the king. It’s another sign foreshadowing what it yet to come.

The Bible tells us from that point on, Saul became jealous of David. And jealousy is never a good thing. We all know what happened when Cain got jealous in Genesis 4. The same process is going to flow through Saul. Saul’s jealousy leads to anger. His anger leads to hate, his hate will lead to pain, suffering, and a few attempts to kill.

In 1 Samuel 18:10, the reader reads a situation very similar to the second half of 1 Samuel 16, but it’s slightly different. Once again, Saul is being tormented by an evil spirit and David is in to play his harp. What’s the difference? Before, in 1 Samuel 16, the only reason the evil spirit goes to Saul is because the Holy Spirit left open a gap for it to invade. Saul does not want the evil spirit; hence why David plays the harp for Saul. Now, in 1 Samuel 18, things changed. Saul’s jealousy, anger and hatred is now feeding this evil spirit and welcoming it in. Thus, it is able to take Saul more forcibly this time, take complete control, and even taking a shot at David’s life twice. But David has a bigger and stronger spirit, the Holy Spirit, guarding him from all danger. So don’t dare think that the evil spirit won this spiritual war. If the spirit had, it would have killed David. The only reason the spirit comes on so strong is because Saul invites it to. (Oh yeah, and if you’re wondering how a demon-possessed man can prophesy, a better translation for the word “prophesying” would be “raving,” as in “raving mad.”)

Now you would think that David would be afraid of Saul at this point, but the Bible tells us quite the opposite. Instead, Saul is afraid of David. So he makes David a commander of a thousand troops and sends them off to battle. Perhaps Saul thought it was a fluke that David won all those previous battles. Maybe Saul was hoping that David would lose a battle or a lot of men, proving he wasn’t that great of a guy. But that’s not what happens. David has the same success in the battlefield as he does in pasture tending sheep or in the royal court playing the harp. He has win after win, victory after victory. How does David do this? As 1 Samuel 17 put, the battle is the Lord’s, and the Lord gives David victory. All this winning makes the people of Israel and Judah fall more in love with David. The only one who isn’t falling in love is Saul.

Saul’s still banking on David losing in battle, so he sets up a scenario. As Saul promised in 1 Samuel 17, he will give David one of his daughters in marriage. But there’s a catch. David has to continue to serve as the leader over a thousand troops. Saul has a reason behind this. His plan is to keep putting David in battle with the Philistines. Eventually, he’ll get tired, slip up, and the Philistines will kill David, so Saul won’t have to. But this doesn’t work out. David refuses the marriage. It’s not really clear why. It may be Merab wasn’t in love with David (compare with verse 20), and David did not want a loveless marriage. Maybe it was because David did not believe he could pay the marriage price for Merab, which will talk about in the next paragraph. In ancient times, nobility only married nobility. Perhaps David did not feel noble enough or upper class enough to marry a princess. Or perhaps Saul simply married Merab to someone else on an impulse while David was taking his good time. Any option works, but I like the second and third option because they appear in the next paragraph.

Saul gets another chance to execute his plan. He discovers that his second daughter, Michal is madly in love with David. So Saul makes sure David feels comfortable marring Michal. Saul sends his house attendants to David to coax him into marrying Michal, convincing him that everyone is Saul’s house, including Saul, like David so much they would be more than happy to see David and Michal wed. It almost works, but David reminds himself about the one thing that gets in the way: the dowry. The dowry was a price the husband had to pay for the bride, in either goods or services. Before you get in a fit about how sexist this is, let me make a comparison. In today’s culture, before marriage, there is engagement, and the engagement is marked as started with an engagement ring. These rings can cost anywhere from the hundreds to thousands, depending on the stones. Now a lot of women want these to be expensive for two reasons. First, they want it to be the most expensive thing they ever wear because of the significance. But second, and most important, is signifies that the husband-to-be has invested a lot of money into this relationship and into the future. The dowry was to signify the same thing. When a man paid a dowry to the woman’s family, he was making a statement to the father and mother that the daughter would not be taken lightly, but be taken care of with the greatest care.

Going back to the story, David pretty much says to Saul’s attendants, “I’d love to marry Michal, but I’m poor, and there’s no way I can pay the dowry price for a princess.” Saul sends back word to David that all he needs to pay for Michal was 100 Philistine foreskins. As disgusting as this might sound, it does have significance. Saul was forcing David to engage in another battle. The foreskins served as mere proof that these men were dead. Now courting Michal, Saul was really hoping Michal was becoming a snare to David, taking his head mentally out of the battle. It does no such thing. David doubles up Saul’s offer. In the same amount of time David had to kill 100 Philistines and get their foreskins, David kill 200 Philistines and retrieves 200 foreskins. Now Saul really has to fulfill his promise and he hands over Michal to David. The plan that Saul constructed to make him feel better is only making things worse. Saul is now more afraid of David, so afraid that Saul makes David his enemy for the rest of his life.

The chapter ends with a generic statement, yet an important one. It simply mentions the Philistines continued to challenge David in battle, and every time David had success and won. The important word here is success. Now that we’re at the end of the chapter, go back over the entire chapter and count every time the word “success” or a form of the word appears. I counted 4 times: “successfully” in verse 5, “success” in verse 14, “successful” in verse 15, and “success” in verse 30. The chapter is definitely trying to get a message across to us. David is successful man. Verse 14 explains why: “Because the Lord was with him.” All this talk about success reminds me of the patriarchal fathers: Abraham, Isaach, Jacob, and even Joseph, all found in Genesis. No matter what did these guys did, they always did whatever they were doing successfully, and it brought them blessing. This success is part of the blessings God gives Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant. When God renews that covenant with Isaac and Jacob, they get the same blessings, which mean the same success. I believe the author is trying to draw on that. David is getting the same success and the patriarchal fathers is getting. It foreshadows that God will make a covenant with David similar to the one God made with Abraham, another successful and blessed man. What made both Abraham and David successful men was that they trusted in God and followed. The author invites the reader to do the same. If we want success, we must follow God. These days any person can walk into a library or a bookstore and find an array of books to make you successful and whatever you want, from cooking to sports to business. Yet not everyone will find the success the book sells. The book of 1 Samuel has only one tip to find success: obey God. God knows what He’s doing and He knows the right path to get you there. So trust in God, let him show you the way, and you too might find success. And if you don’t find success in a certain area, maybe that’s not where God wants to be successful. He might want to be successful somewhere else, so pay close attention for it!

While David is successful in life, Saul is not so much. He seems to be deteriorating every day. Now that we’ve come to the close of 1 Samuel 18, let’s see what Saul has to say now.

Dear Journal,
I hate David! At first, I was happy to work with him because he made my life so much better. But now all he does is bring me misery. First, he takes my firstborn by becoming best friends with him. Next, he takes my daughter’s hand marriage and she becomes his wife. Then, he wins over all the people of Israel with all these victories fighting the Philistines. It’s like he’s already got the picture adoring him. I fear it’s only days, if not hours, until they force the crown off of my head and onto his. I’ve tried many things to get rid of him. I’ve tried making my daughters a snare to him. I’ve tried putting him in deadly battles. Yet none of them work. So as the saying goes, if I want something done right, I have to do it myself! David, today you become my enemy, and I will hunt you down!
Saul