1 Sam 19 — Saul Tries to Kill David
1 Sam 20 — Jonathan Warns David of his Father
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Side note: It’s been over a year since we shot the video for Brothers (Aaron Litchanski’s short film centered on David and Jonathan). I remember the scene where David enters Saul’s tent and the passage above is played out. It’s a powerful scene, even more significant now that I’ve carefully read the scriptures leading up to and surrounding that particular event. I hope and pray that anyone following this Staff Reading List is blessed by the discipline of digging through Scripture, the very Word of God, on a daily basis. I’m grateful we have a leader that would boldly set a rigorous reading plan for the entire staff. This is truly rewarding on many levels. Thanks Kevin!
Back to the story. Jonathan and David had already cemented their relationship as brothers in the Lord, a deep and significant covenant (1 Sam 18:1-4). “Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David” (1 Sam 19:1), but the bond between these two brothers is strong and Jonathan has witnessed his father’s instability, so he warns David and speaks to his father. Saul listens, but again, Saul’s insanity creeps in and before long, “Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear” (1 Sam 19:10). David escapes with his wife’s help and confides in Samuel. Saul discovers David’s location and sends men to capture him on three occasions, finally he goes himself (1 Sam 19:19-24). Each time, as they got close to Samuel, the Spirit of God came upon them and they too prophesied, they were overwhelmed with God’s presence there in that place. To the non-Christian world, this experience would seem really strange, but in my experience, there have been many times when the presence of God among his people is so strong that you truly could sense the Holy Spirit’s presence. These are marvelous, mountain-top experiences that I treasure personally. Saul on the other hand felt the presence of God and reacted a bit strangely, “He stripped off his garments…prophesied…lay naked all that day and all that night” (1 Sam 19:24).
David runs away again and seeks Jonathan’s advice. Somehow Jonathan is unaware of Saul’s change of heart, he believed his father truly “listened to Jonathan” (1 Sam 19:6) and there was no plan to kill David beyond that point. David and Jonathan make another covenant and devise a plan to determine if Saul is really intent on killing David. At the feast Saul asks Jonathan why David is absent. Jonathan’s answer sends Saul into a rage, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman!” (1 Sam 20:30). “Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David” (1 Sam 20:33). The brothers met in secret as planned and David fled.
David’s amazing loyalty throughout this entire narrative is amazing. No doubt he penned many of the Psalms during this period. We read such emotional words like “one thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life…” (Psalm 27:4), words that inspired an old favorite worship song, “Better Is One Day.” When troubles are all around me, even though that pale in comparison to the struggles that David had to face, may I sing your praises O Lord, may I look to you in my day of trouble. There is much to learn about David’s faith here. If he could be faithful under such duress, surely I can make it through the toughest of days!