Explore the intense drama of biblical history as David maneuvers through King Saul’s murderous plots with the help of allies like Jonathan. Experience the power of the Spirit of God as it transforms Saul’s messengers into prophets, and delve into the suspenseful interactions that define this era of Israel’s history. This episode encapsulates themes of loyalty, faith, and the enduring bond between kindred spirits.
After the incredible win over Goliath, David went on to show himself a true fighting man. Killing Goliath was no fluke. He apparently fought without fear, believing with all his heart that he was in the right and that God would fight right alongside of him. He chalked up some great victories, and the people loved him and honored him to such an extent that it generated great jealousy on the part of his king, King Saul. Saul had actually promised that the man who slew Goliath would have the hand of the king’s daughter. Turns out that Michael, Saul’s daughter, loved David. So they went and told Saul. Servants did say, you know, your girl here is really in love. She’s enamored of David. And Saul said, well, now there’s an opportunity. The wheels began to turn in his mind. He saw a way he might get rid of David. He said, I’ll give her to him. that she can be a snare to him, that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So he said to David, You know, you’re going to be my son-in-law, and one of these two girls I’ve got. He commanded his servants, saying, I want you to go to David secretly, and say, Look, the king has delight in you. All his servants love you. Now, we want you to be the king’s son-in-law. They spoke these things in the ears of David, and David said, Are you kidding? Is it a light thing to be the king’s son-in-law? Look, I’m a poor man. I’m lightly esteemed. It’s an interesting response coming from David. He didn’t have any idea how much power he really had. He knew he was poor. And he had really apparently had no idea of how he was extolled and lionized by the public. Being poor was significant because he needed a gift, a dowry to give to her father in order to marry the daughter of a king. The servants of Saul went back to Saul and said, Look, this is what David said. And Saul said, Thus shall you say to David, The king does not want a dowry except for this. He wants a hundred foreskins of the Philistines to be avenged of the king’s enemies. What Saul really wanted was for David to fall by the hand of the Philistines because this meant he had to go fight hand to hand and kill. Well, when his servants told David these words, A lesser man might have grown faint or pale. Now David, he said, okay, I’d be glad to be the king’s son-in-law. And the time hadn’t expired when that needed to be done. Now it’s funny, you can almost hear David say, oh, is that all? I can do that. No problem. So he got up and went, he and his men. And they slew of the Philistines 200 men. And I want to even think about how they went about collecting the foreskins. And he brought the foreskins, I guess, in a bag and plopped this soggy bag down in front of the king so he could be the king’s son-in-law. So what could Saul do? He gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife. And Saul saw this. He knew that the Lord was with David and that Michal, Michal also called Saul’s daughter, loved him. Nothing worked. And even his daughter fell in love with David. And Saul was even more afraid of David. And he became David’s enemy continually. Well, then there was an invasion. The princes of the Philistines came forth, and it came to pass that after they assayed out, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was much set by in Israel. Every time the Philistines came out, David was there. David and his men, the battle was planned, and the battle was won. 1 Samuel, chapter 19. Saul is still very unhappy about all this, and he spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his other men, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan went straight to David and said, Look, my father wants to kill you. I pray you, take heed to yourself until the morning. Stay out here in a secret place. Don’t get found. And I will go and stand beside my father in the field where you’re going to be, and I’ll commune with my father of you. And what I see, I will tell you. Jonathan believed to the bitter end that he could do something about this, that he should be able to resolve this problem. They should be able to somehow heal the breach between his father and David. He frankly just didn’t know how badly his father was bitten. So Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul, his father, and he said to him, Don’t let the king sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you. His works toward you have been very good, for he put his life in your hand. He slew the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all of Israel. You saw it, and you rejoiced. Why then are you going to sin against innocent blood to slay David without any rational reason? Well, Saul listened to him on that day, and he swore and said, As the Lord lives, he shall not be slain. You know, when you take God’s name into your oath, when you’re lying, you’ve done a very bad thing. So Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all these things. And he brought David back to Saul, and he was in his presence just like old times. Saul could not face down his son, but he was still a very sick man. Well, there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and killed them, slew them with a great slaughter, and they ran from the field. The result of all this was the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand. And off to one side was David playing on a lute. Saul turned and did his dead-level best to smite David to the wall with the javelin, but David dodged, and the javelin went smash into the wall. David fled and escaped that night. Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch for him. They wanted to kill him in the morning. Michael, David’s wife, warned him. She said, look, if you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you’re a dead man. So she let David down through a window, and he took off into the woods, and she took an image she had, a statue, and laid it in the bed and put a pillow of goat’s hair under its head and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, No, he can’t come. He’s sick. Well, they went back and told Saul. He sent them again, saying, Well, bring me to him in his bed. I want to kill him in his bed. When the messengers went in, oops, there was an image in the bed, a statue with a pillow of goat’s hair for the bolster. This did not make Saul happy with Michael. He said, Why have you deceived me so and sent my enemy away that he has escaped? And Michael answered Saul and said, Well, he told me, let me go. Why should I kill you? She was an accomplished little liar. So David fled and escaped and came to Samuel and Ramah. And he told him everything that Saul had done. And he and Samuel went and lived in Naoth for some little time. The word, of course, came quickly to Saul, saying, Look, David is at Naoth in Ramah. What happened next is really fascinating. I’ll tell you that story when I come back after this short message.
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At this point in the story, we’ve come really to the beginning of a long time of animosity between David and Saul, and Saul pursuing David all over the landscape, trying to kill him, and never quite being able to catch him. He did, however, find out where he was on this occasion, that he was in Nioth and Ramah. We’re in 1 Samuel 19, verse 20. So he sent messengers to take David. And what you ought to imagine here is a squad of infantry. Might have been a platoon, but it didn’t have to be. Probably sent himself a small squad of infantry with instructions, armed men, by the way, not just messengers, to go out there and take David. Well, here they come. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. Now, what in the world is this all about? I can’t say for sure, but if you had been standing by, you’d been sitting over off to one side watching this thing develop, what you would have seen is a chorus of men singers with Samuel leading them. Now, the music would have fallen very strangely on your ears because our tonal system is way off in their future. But nevertheless, they singing and singing was one of the ways that people prophesied in these days. And they often required a musical instrument in order to be able to prophesy. So imagine a chorus of men being led by Samuel, and the music and the Spirit of God is there. It’s really powerful. You would have seen this company of men sent by Saul approach these men and then themselves begin to join in the song. They were just overwhelmed with the moment. The Spirit of God was there. Now, when it was told Saul, he sent some more messengers, and they did the same thing, and then he sent some more the third time. Guess what happens? They joined the choir as well. Finally, he went down himself, and he came to a great well that’s in Siku, and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And they said, Oh, he’s over at Naoth and Ramah. Of course, I thought Saul already knew that, but we have to allow for things. He went there to Naoth and Ramah, And when he approached, the Spirit of God was upon him also. And he went on and prophesied until he came to Naoth. And he stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner and lay down naked all that night. Wherefore came the saying, Is Saul also among the prophets? This is so striking that the Spirit of God in that region, in that area, under these circumstances, was so strong, so powerful, that people couldn’t help themselves. They just were swept up in the moment and began to sing. And, of course, the taking off of clothes and lying down naked is merely a symbol of abject, total humility and worship toward God. You know, even a bad person knows when he’s in the presence of God, and he is affected by it. And that is what we’ve got right here. 1 Samuel 20. David decided he’d better get out of there, and he went and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What’s my iniquity? What’s my sin before your father that he seeks my life? What’s going on here, Jonathan? Now, the relationship between these two men was very special. David could trust Jonathan with his life, and indeed, at this moment, he was trusting him with his life. As for Jonathan, Jonathan was still in denial concerning his father. He just couldn’t believe that Saul was as sick as he was, that he really wanted to kill David. And he said to him, no, no, you’re not going to die. My father’s not going to do anything against you. He’ll show it to me first. Why should my father hide this thing from me? It can’t be this way. It can’t be so. And David said, no, he swore. He said, your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes. He knows you and I are friends. And he knows also that if he lets you know it, I’ll find out. So he’s told his people, don’t let Jonathan know about this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. So, Jonathan said to David, whatever you say, I’ll do it for you. And David said, look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat, at food. Let me go that I can hide in the field to the third day at even. I gather in those days they had a custom that on the first of the month they had a big festival. There were a lot of sacrifices, hence a lot of meat. And so they had a feast, and the king expected all the key people to be present at that feast. Now, if your father at all misses me, then you tell him David earnestly desired leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city. For there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he says this, oh, well, that’s good. then I know that I’ll have peace. But if he’s angry, then you be sure that evil is determined by him. And then you’ll deal kindly with me because you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Notwithstanding, if there is in me any iniquity, kill me yourself. Why should you bring me to your father? Now, the covenant he’s talking about here was sworn by The day Jonathan met David the very first time. The story is told back in 1 Samuel chapter 18. It came to pass when David had made an end of speaking to Saul. Now this is right after the death of Goliath. This huge moment in time when he has slain him with his slingshot and then taken Goliath’s sword and cut off his head with his own sword and brought it back carrying it in a hand to Saul. that on that day the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and he loved him as his own life. And Saul took him that day and wouldn’t even let him go home to his father’s house. Then it says this, Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. What we’re talking about here is something like what we today would call blood brotherhood. You know all about it probably from many old Western movies where people cut themselves and let their blood run together and become blood brothers. They make a covenant. It’s a blood covenant. Okay, well, David and Jonathan did something like this. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him and gave it to David and his garments, even his sword, his bow, and his girdle. See, David had come in there dressed like a shepherd. Poor boy. And Jonathan bestowed the clothing of status upon David. And at that moment there came a strong and enduring friendship. Now, returning to where we were, Jonathan, in discussing this with him, he says, Now, this is not going to be this way, because I really know that if evil were determined by my father to come upon you, wouldn’t I tell you? And then David said to Jonathan, Who’s going to tell me? And what if your father answers you roughly? Jonathan said to David, Come, let’s go out in the field. They went out in the middle of the field, and he said to David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow at any time or the third day, and behold, if there is good toward David, and I send not to you to show it to you, the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleased my father to do you evil, then I will show it to you, and I will send you a way that you can go in peace, and the Lord will be with you as he has been with my father. and you shall not only while I live, this is your side of the deal, you will show me the kindness of the Lord that I die not, but also you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord has cut off the enemies of David, every one of them from the face of the earth, and you are in great power, I expect you, to not cut off your kindness from my children. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David’s enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him. He loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon. You shall be missed. Your seat will be empty. And when you have stayed three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place you did hide yourself when the business was at hand, and you stay over there by the stone Ezel. And here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to shoot three arrows onto the side of it as though I shot at a mark. And I will send my lad saying, go and find my arrows. Now you listen. If I expressly say to the lad, look, the arrows are on this side of you. They’re this way. Come get them. Then you can come in because there is peace to you and no hurt as the Lord lives. But if I say this to the young man, look, the arrows are beyond you. Go on further out and pick them up. then the Lord has sent you away. And as touching the matter which you and I have spoken of, the Lord be between you and me forever. What a promise. I know a lot of people probably have difficulty understanding this relationship. But these were men of war. These were men who fought alongside one another. These were men who probably had protected one another’s back in battle. And they had that special thing which today people prefer to call male bonding. But what it is, it is the very special love that can exist between two men that has nothing whatever to do with sex. So that was the deal. It was the way in which they were going to get the message out in case Saul was there or they would be seen. So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat down to eat his food, and the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, by the wall. And Jonathan arose, Abner sat by Saul’s side. David’s place was empty. Saul didn’t say anything that day. He said, maybe something has happened to him, or maybe he’s not clean. That’s probably it. He’s not clean. And, of course, if you’re unclean, you are not allowed to eat of the Lord’s sacrifices. It came to pass on the next day, which was the second day of the month, that David was still not there. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why isn’t the son of Jesse here today? Why hasn’t he here yesterday? And Jonathan answered Saul, saying, David, earnestly ask leave of me to go to Bethlehem. He said, Let me go, I pray you, for our family has a sacrifice in the city. Sort of like a family reunion. And my brother has commanded me to be there. The older brother had that kind of authority. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me go away, I pray you, and see my brothers. And that’s why he hasn’t been here at the king’s table. Saul was furious. His anger rose in his face. And he said to Jonathan, You son of the perverse, rebellious woman. Don’t I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? This is about as insulting as a man could ever be to his son. And I allow you to do your own translation into modern English of that expression, you son of a perverse, rebellious woman. It was just that bad. He said, as long as the son of Jesse lives on the ground, you will not be established. You won’t inherit the kingdom. What he didn’t understand was Jonathan didn’t want the kingdom. He wanted David to have it. So send and fetch him to me because he’s going to die. And Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and said, Why? What are you going to kill him for? What has he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him. Whereby Jonathan knew it was determined of his father to kill David. You know, Jonathan was a little hard to convince, but there comes a point in time when no one can deny it any longer. So Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger. He ate no food the second day of the month. He was grieved for David because his father had done him shame. Right out there, he called him these names right in front of everyone and had tried to kill his own son. at his own feast.
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I’ll be right back with the rest of this story.
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So at the time they’d agreed on, Jonathan went out into the field, took a little boy with him. And he said to the boy, run over there and let’s see how far the arrows go that I shoot. And so the lad started running and he shot an arrow over his head, way over his head. And when the lad got to the place of the arrows where Jonathan had shot, he says, the arrow’s on the other side of you. He cried out to him, make speed, haste, don’t stay. And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and brought them back to his master. He didn’t know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew. So he gave his artillery to the lad and said, Go, carry them into town. And when the lad was gone, David got up out of his place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times before Jonathan. They kissed one another, wept with one another. David wept all the more. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace. We have sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between you and me, between my seed and your seed, forever. We have a family covenant. So David arose and left, and Jonathan went home. So David, and this is 1 Samuel 21, came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid of the meeting of David, and he said, What are you there alone for? Nobody’s with you. Well, he wasn’t alone. He had a retinue with him, but he didn’t have anyone important with him, which is what the priest didn’t understand. Because normally, David would have a collection of people. And David said to Ahimelech the priest, Well, the king has commanded me a business. He lied. And he said to me, Don’t let any man know anything of the business whereabout I am sending you. It’s secret in what I have commanded you, and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now, therefore, what have you got under your hand for food? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you have here. And the priest said, There is no common bread here under my hand. I have the hallowed bread, if the young men have kept themselves, at least from women. And David answered the priest and said, well, surely women have kept for us for about three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, although it was sanctified this day in the vessel. Now, this is a classic case of rationalization, to do something that they felt needed to be done, but that was technically unlawful. I know it was unlawful because Jesus cited this specific example in a discussion with the Pharisees. They were criticizing him because his disciples were walking through a field on the Sabbath day and grabbing an ear of corn, rubbing it in their hands and popping it in their mouth and eating it. And they asked Jesus and said, well, why do your disciples do what’s not lawful to do on the Sabbath day? You’ll find this in Matthew chapter 12. He said to them, haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry and they that were with him? how he entered into the house of God and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those that were with him. It was only for the priests. And Jesus presents this in such a way, saying it wasn’t lawful, but yet it was okay in the exigency of the circumstance in which David found himself. It’s an interesting illustration. They did rationalize it. It was unlawful. And I gather God allowed it. Returning to 1 Samuel 21. So the priest gave him the hallowed bread. There was no bread there but the showbread. And it had been actually taken from before the Lord to be replaced with hot bread the same day. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul happened to be there that day. He had been detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg. He was not an Israelite. He was an Edomite, the chief of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. And David said to Ahimelech, Don’t you have a weapon here of some kind? I didn’t bring a sword. I didn’t bring anything with me because the king’s business required haste. The priest told him, he said, no, the only thing that’s here is the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed. It’s right here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want that, take it. There is no other save that here. And David said, there is no weapon like that. Give it to me.
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