April 10th
1 Samuel, 19
Saul tries to murder David
1: And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they
should kill David. 2: 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: 3: 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. 4: 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 theeward
very good: 5: 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? 6: And Saul hearkened unto the voice
of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. 7: And Jonathan called David, and
Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he
was in his presence, as in times past. 8:
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. 9: 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. 10: 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. 11:
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. 12: So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and
fled, and escaped. 13: 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. 14: And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is
sick. 15: And Saul sent the
messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I
may slay him. 16: And when the
messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow
of goats' hair for his bolster. 17:
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? 18:
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. 19: And it was told Saul, saying,
Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 20:
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. 21: 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. 22: 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. 23:
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. 24: 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?
1 Samuel, 20
Jonathan helps David to escape
1: And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan,
What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father,
that he seeketh my life? 2: And
he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do
nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my
father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3: And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly
knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan
know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 4: Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth,
I will even do it for thee. 5:
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should
not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in
the field unto the third day at even. 6:
If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that
he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for
all the family. 7: If he say
thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then
be sure that evil is determined by him. 8:
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy
servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in
me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9: And Jonathan said, Far be it from
thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come
upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? 10: Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if
thy father answer thee roughly? 11:
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they
went out both of them into the field. 12:
And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my
father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be
good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee; 13: The LORD do so and much more to
Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee,
and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as
he hath been with my father. 14:
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that
I die not: 15: But also thou
shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD
hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. 16: So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's
enemies. 17: And Jonathan
caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved
his own soul. 18: Then Jonathan
said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy
seat will be empty. 19: And
when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to
the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and
shalt remain by the stone Ezel. 20:
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. 21: And, behold, I will send a lad,
saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the
arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace
to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth. 22: But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are
beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. 23: And as touching the matter which
thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever. 24: So David hid himself in the
field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25: And the king sat upon his seat,
as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner
sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. 26: Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he
thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 27: And it came to pass on the
morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty:
and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to
meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? 28:
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem: 29: And he said, Let
me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my
brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in
thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he
cometh not unto the king's table. 30:
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son
of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son
of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's
nakedness? 31: For as long as
the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy
kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 32: And Jonathan answered Saul his
father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 33: And Saul cast a javelin at him to
smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay
David. 34: So Jonathan arose
from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the
month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 35: And it came to pass in the
morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with
David, and a little lad with him. 36:
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as
the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37: And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which
Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow
beyond thee? 38: And Jonathan
cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered
up the arrows, and came to his master. 39:
But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40: And Jonathan gave his artillery
unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 41: And as soon as the lad was gone,
David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the
ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept
one with another, until David exceeded. 42:
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us
in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between
my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went
into the city.
In
today’s reading we see the very sad episode of David’s life in which the king
of Israel Saul becomes so jealous of David that he tries to murder him. David
is only saved by the intervention of Saul’s son Jonathan. How sad that men of
God should turn on each other because of jealousy and bad temper. Yet David
shines out as an example of restraint and grace. He was surely a man after Gods
own heart. First we see that Saul gave orders to have David killed yet Jonathan
was delighted in David and loved him as a brother. This must have proved to be
a difficult tight rope for Jonathan to walk with his duty to his father and his
love for David. Jonathan warned David of Saul’s intentions and tried to change
Saul’s mind by saying good things of David to his father. He reminded him of
David’s exploits and loyalty toward Saul. Saul listened to his son and turned
away from his evil plans against David. David and Saul were restored to each
other and when war came with the Philistines David led the battle for Saul and
won a great victory. However after the battle Saul turned against David again
and tried to murder him with his javelin. David slipped away into the darkness
of the night. His wife Michal put an image in his bed to try to give the
impression that David slept. David escaped from a window and escaped from Saul.
David went back to Samuel the one who had anointed him. Saul sent messengers to
Saul demanding that David be returned to him to kill him, but when the messengers
came to Samuel they were overcome by the Spirit of God and they prophesied, So
Saul sent other messengers with the same result. Again he sent a third group
and the same thing happened and in the end he came himself and he too was
overcome by the Spirit and prophesied. David was glad to have been delivered
but he knew Saul could change him mind so he fled and hid himself. Jonathan and
David entered a solemn covenant of peace between their respected houses because
Jonathan loved him so much. David arranged with Jonathan a way whereby they
might know how Saul is disposed. They arranged a secret signal that would
indicate the spirit of Saul and keep David safe. Strangely Saul was surprised
that David did not come to eat at his table. Jonathan asked what David had done
to deserve death but Saul threw his spear at Jonathan he knew that even he was
not safe with his father. Jonathan was very angry at his father and gave
warning to David not to come near the King – his father.
Steve
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