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
intensions 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.
- Why is Saul so mad at David?
- How did David escape?
- How did David discover whether Saul was still mad at him?
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