The more successful David was, the more Saul’s evil spirit or attitude toward him grew, controlling his thinking. When the Philistines invaded again, David’s strategies were more successful than others leaders, earning him a lot of respect, as I Samuel 18:30 tells us. “Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.” Obsessed with the idea David was trying to seize his position, Saul ordered his advisors and body guards to kill David in I Samuel 19:1. “And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.”
David and Jonathan were best friends, so Jonathan warned
David what Saul had said. Hoping it was
just a spur of the moment statement and not something Saul actually meant,
Jonathan encouraged David to hide out until he could find out how serious Saul
was, in I Samuel 19:2-3. “But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in
David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee:
now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide
in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my
father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee;
and what I see, that I will tell thee.”
Jonathan then reminded Saul of how faithful David had been
and how much he had done for Saul. Saul
agreed that his order had been illogical and unfair, promising David would not
be killed. Believing everything was
okay, Jonathan brought David to meet with Saul, in I Samuel 19:4-7. “And
Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not
the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned
against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: For he
did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a
great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore
then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan:
and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed
him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his
presence, as in times past.”
Everything seemed fine until the Philistines attacked again
and David was successful in defeating them.
Reminded of his hesitation and feeling inferior to David, Saul again
attempted to kill him, in I Samuel 19:8-10.
“And there was war again: and David
went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great
slaughter; and they fled from him. And
the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his
javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the
wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote
the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.”
When David dodged the bullet, Saul sent men to follow him
home and kIll him when he left the house the next morning. Knowing her father’s anger, Michal had no
doubt what he would do, and helped David to escape, in I Samuel 19:11-17. “Saul
also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the
morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to
night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. So
Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
And Michal took an
image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster,
and covered it with a cloth. And when
Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. And Saul sent the messengers again to see
David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when the messengers were come in, behold,
there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived
me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul,
He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?” Fearing for her own
life, Michal intimated that David had
threatened to kill her if she didn’t help him.
David fled to Samuel for protection, as the prophet and
representative of god for sanctuary. Demonically obsessed, Saul repeatedly sent
men to kill David, in defiance of God and his law, but God stopped them, in I Samuel
19:18-21. So David fled, and escaped, and
came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and
Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it
was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. And Saul sent messengers to take David: 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. And when it was
told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul
sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.”
When his assassins failed to kil David, Saul decided he
would have to do it himself. The Spirit
of God came over him, temporarily distracting him from his plan< in I Samuel
19:22-24. “Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu:
and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they
be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went
thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he
went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and
prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and
all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?”
God’s spirit came on Saul, overpowering the demonic spirit
and causing him to prophesy. As a result
some people concluded Saul must be a prophet of God even though he was being
led of a demonic spirit. Many times we
forget God is so powerful he can even cause Satan or the demons to do what he
wants.
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