God protects his people in all sorts of circumstances and positions them to be used for a greater work. Are you facing hardship today? Join Pastor Marty Baker as he looks as Saul’s jealousy of David in 1 Samuel 19 and unpacks God’s provision in the midst of persecution.
Have you ever dealt with a hostile person consumed with destroying your life? I have, and it is not pleasant, and when it comes from someone you trust, that makes their attacks even more hurtful and pronounced.
While a pastor in California, I hired a young man from the East Coast to be our first full-time youth pastor. He had a pleasant and joyful personality, and the youth group grew as he loved on and taught them God’s Word, showing them how it related to their complex lives and cultural issues.
A few months after he began, however, various issues between individuals started to arise within the church. Before his arrival, we enjoyed unity and peace in the body; however, that slowly began to vaporize with his presence. Couples started arguing with other couples. Nasty, ruthless gossip began to circulate about lay and pastoral leaders. I, along with our other pastor of adults and the elders, sought to get to the bottom of all the mayhem; yet, the Gordian knot of gossip made it challenging to unmask the person or persons responsible for this relational upheaval.
I’ll never forget when the culprit was exposed.
Our family was on vacation when I got the call from one of the elders. A felonious and life-destroying claim was raised against one of our lay leaders. After conducting extensive investigations, the elders uncovered the origin of this unfounded claim: the youth pastor, whom we will refer to as Doug. They brought him into a hastily called meeting, presented the evidence they had acquired, and asked him what he knew about it. After a few uncomfortable moments, Doug folded like a lawn chair and confessed that he was the person responsible for all the disorder in the once calm body. When the elders asked him about his motivation for such activity, he said he wanted to create such disruption and chaos in the church that they would fire me and then hire him to replace me.
Unbelievable. I had only ever done right by this young man, and he covertly worked behind the scenes to not only destroy the church but also my life and ministry. When I confronted him on the day I fired him, he said he was raised in a home where his father was a chronic, perpetual, and clever liar. He had unfortunately learned his father’s way of getting things done to benefit himself. Sad. I’ll never forget the last night he taught the youth. Afterward, I walked him out of the building in the rain, told him good-bye, and that I hoped he would learn from this experience in the future. Looking humiliated and emotional, he then got in his car and drove off into the night.
Are you currently dealing with Doug? Have you been blindsided by someone envious and jealous of you? Is their hostility toward you increasing every day? Are you losing sleep over the chaos? If so, what should you do? How should you respond?
Wise insight and answers to these questions naturally arise from our study of David’s dealings with King Saul, especially as recorded by the Holy Spirit in 1 Samuel 19. However, before we delve into the rich soil of this historical narrative, let us first recap the context.
In chapter 17, David courageously did the unthinkable with a slingshot: he took out the mighty and menacing Philistine giant warrior named Goliath.
In chapter 18, the fact that the women of Israel gave David more accolades for this victory than all of Saul’s victories combined triggered the king. Instantly, he was jealous that David might take away his empire, and he became envious of David’s notoriety and prowess on the battlefield. So, he attempted various means of getting David killed to silence his opposition.
First, he threw a spear at him and missed.
Second, he tried to sucker David into marrying his oldest daughter with the caveat he’d have to pay a dangerous battlefield dowery to secure her. David passed.
Third, when he discovered his other daughter actually loved David, he told the young soldier he could marry her only after bringing him the foreskins of one hundred dead Philistine soldiers. David brought him two hundred instead, and, from Saul’s twisted perspective, David had survived again.
Turning to chapter 19, we quickly discover that when the powerful monsters called jealousy and envy run amok in your life, they drive you to do things to the object of your hatred you’d never dream you would do. And from David’s innocent perspective, just when you thought things looked brighter and more promising, a sick man like Saul suddenly turned up the heat. As this occurred, we will learn a valuable lesson or two about how saints should live in tough, trying times like this. With verse one, we encounter what I structurally label . . …
The Rule (1 Sam. 19:1a)
The opening verse leaves us no doubt that Saul had a real-life problem. In chapter eighteen, his jealousy and envy of David, Israel’s next divinely appointed king, dramatically move from being covert to overt:
1 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. (1 Sam. 19)
While everyone loved David and stood with him as a proven leader, King Saul recklessly commanded all of them to work with him in murdering Israel’s best hope for victory and peace. Years ago, the church father, Chrysostom, wisely concluded: “As a moth gnaws a garment, so doth envy consume a man.”[1] These words certainly apply to King Saul. Unchecked and unconfessed jealousy and envy in his life ate away at any modicum of decency he had left, resulting in creating in his soul an insatiable desire to silence an innocent man permanently. Are you struggling with these twin sins? If so, you need to deal with them at the feet of Christ’s cross before they destroy you and possibly others. If you are the object of a person driving by these sinister sins, then do not lose heart. The ensuing verses will show you why.
With verse 1b, the story heads in an unpredictable, and might I say, positive direction. From verse 1b through 7, we encounter a section I call . . .
The Reasoning (1 Sam. 19:1b-7)
The ruthless, out-of-control king commanded his people to put a hit on David, but they, starting with his son, Jonathan, were not too thrilled with the dumb, devious idea:
But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. (1 Sam. 19:1b)
וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר שָׁא֗וּל אֶל־יוֹנָתָ֤ן בְּנוֹ֙ וְאֶל־כָּל־עֲבָדָ֔יו לְהָמִ֖ית אֶת־דָּוִ֑ד וִיהֽוֹנָתָן֙ בֶּן־שָׁא֔וּל חָפֵ֥ץ בְּדָוִ֖ד מְאֹֽד׃
The opening word “but” is highly emphatic in the Hebrew text because a coordinating conjunction is wedded to a non-verb, “but Jonathan.” A verb should be first in the clause/sentence; however, since this does not occur and the conjunction attached to Jonathan comes first, we have a dramatic turn of events. Instead of Saul’s subjects giving him instant obedience to his carnal, cruel command, we read that the next in line to the throne, Jonathan, did not support his father’s decision. Instead of despising David, Jonathan delighted in him, for he knew that God’s hand of blessing rested squarely on his powerful shoulders. From this statement, we learn that when you face a hostile person, God providentially places people in your life to offer you defense, care, and protection. You just might be shocked at who they are, too. Who would have ever thought the powerful king’s son would give up his power related to the throne to support the ascension of a shepherd boy from the small backwater village named Bethlehem?
Putting much on the line, Jonathan bravely stepped out of the shadows to confront his father’s sin, while also attempting to motivate his father to come to his senses and act like a godly king. His well-thought-out plan first involved David:
2 So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; if I find out anything, then I shall tell you.” (1 Sam. 19)
Jonathan wanted David to hide in a certain location so he could hear his discussion with his father on the next day. If the conversation proved fruitful, then David could emerge from hiding. If not, then he could stay hidden and safe. How interesting and ironic. The man who would eventually take the throne from the next in line, legally, was helped and saved by the one who had the right by law to be the next king. Don’t tell me God doesn’t work in unsuspecting ways to deliver His people.
The next day, Jonathan took his father, Saul, to this chosen location for a heartfelt talk between father and son. Everything about what Jonathan did drips with courage. He stepped forward to admonish not just the king but his father. Paul, who wrote years later, “We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thess. 5:14), would have admired this brave Jewish leader. No one lives for confrontation, but wise people know there are times when someone has to step forward and say what needs sayin.’
4 Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you. 5 “For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, by putting David to death without a cause?” (1 Sam. 19)
Again, when you might not be in a position to defend yourself from a hostile person with evil intent, God just might providentially send you a qualified person like Jonathan to admonish the person who is acting like a selfish, spoiled bully.
Underscore how Jonathan confronted his faithless and ruthless father. Even though Saul was wrapped up in and controlled by the unpredictable emotions of jealousy and envy, Jonathan astutely reasoned with him. Simply put, Jonathan gave his father the cold, hard facts as to why killing an innocent person like David, a man who had only benefited his father’s kingdom, was not the way to go.
Amazingly, Saul took the admonishment and changed his mind:
6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” (1 Sam. 19)
On the surface, Saul sounded convincing; however, we know from his earlier rash vows that he had a penchant for not keeping them (1 Sam. 14:24, 44). Obviously, he would rather have his way as opposed to God’s. God called His saints to keep vows, or to keep their word, which is the honorable thing (Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Zech. 8:17). Saul only selectively believed that because sometimes a vow could keep him from getting what he wanted.
However, at least for now, it seemed that a broken relationship had been restored. So, joyously, Jonathan summoned David:
7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly. (1 Sam. 19).
It is a beautiful thing when a relationship is restored between saints, and I’m sure David enjoyed being in the king’s presence again. He could breathe with ease, and he could let his guard down for the enemy was without, not within. That sense of comfort and peace, unfortunately, didn’t last long.
I know this is a sad case because of what we encounter in the next section, which recounts…
The Relapse (1 Sam. 19:8-11a)
What happened to all that relational peace? It went up in smoke when David became victorious against the Philistine forces on a battlefield.
8 When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines, and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him. 9 Now there was an evil spirit from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10 And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. (1 Sam. 19)
Like an alcoholic who breaks his three months of sobriety with one shot of vodka, David’s military success against Israel’s ancient enemy triggered King Saul’s latent jealousy and envy. With this one battle, the selfish, self-absorbed king couldn’t stand David being elevated again, and not himself. So, what did he do? He threw another spear at the agile warrior. I’m glad I didn’t have a father-in-law like this. All of this is so tragically ironic. While David speared Israel’s enemies, King Saul tried to spear him. Do you see how the king’s sin drove him to take the most monstrous and illogical fashion possible? Such is the nature of sin.
David, of course, was skilled at dodging spears, but this event represented a final rupture in his relationship with the king. He would spend the next ten years running from this bloodthirsty king, hiding in caves, drinking from streams, and attempting to get food from anyone who’d dare support him. What a tragic, torturous life for one who God anointed to be the next king.
Again, I ask: Why did the Lord permit this? God would use the next ten years to purge Saul’s character flaws from David, so he would become the kind of king the Lord desired. One who was humble as opposed to haughty, loved God and His law as opposed to loving self and one’s version of the law, loyal as opposed to being disloyal, and cared for the people as opposed to caring about himself and his desires. If God is using a Saul in your life right now, realize they are probably there to shape and hone your inner person into God’s holy image. And never forget that during the painful process, God will raise Jonathan-types to aid and assist you.
You will need them because a Saul-type can be relentless and crafty. Read on and you’ll see what I mean:
11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. (1 Sam. 19)
The King sent some crack troops to his son-in-law and daughter’s home in order to murder him the next morning. How twisted is this? Wow. What was Saul proposing? Did he want his men to kill David right in front of his daughter? That would be sick, but not surprising. Did he want his daughter traumatized the next morning, as the armed soldiers would drag David out of his home? Saul was so jealous and envious of David that he didn’t care about what his daughter saw or experienced. What a heartless father.
Saul’s daughter, however, was no dainty flower. In many respects, she had learned a great deal from her father. We see in her next actions how God providentially used another person to protect his anointed one from a hostile person. We will refer to this section as. . .
The Rescue (1 Sam. 19:11b)
Michal stepped up to save David by devising a creative plan to give him a head start with the approaching soldiers:
But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. 13 And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” (1 Sam. 19)
What Michal did was like something out of a Hollywood movie. She placed a large idol in the bed to make it look like David was under the covers, and then she added some goat hair just outside the covers to make it appear her husband was asleep in bed. Crafty. I wonder where she learned the art of deception from? Her father. Then she lied to her father by sending messengers to inform him that David was ill in bed. I wonder where she learned the art of lying from? Her father. I wonder where she learned the art of scheming from? Her father. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Why was there a household idol in David’s house? This was probably her idol, and it served as a point of compromise in her life and David’s. That idol should have been thrown out of the house, but I’m sure the superstition of disposing of it sent a chill down her religious spine. In any case, it proved to be a useful substitute for David’s body.
Eventually, clever and crafty old King Saul thought something fishy was going on. So, he went with his gut:
15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.” (1 Sam. 19)
Anger so controlled Saul that he wanted his men to bring David on his bed if need be. He just wanted him in his presence so he could kill him and solve his competitive problem.
The ensuing verses tell us what happened next:
16 When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?'” (1 Sam. 19)
Once more, Michal lied to her father. In so many words, she replied, “Dad, what other choice did I have when the man threatened to kill me. I had to do what I did to safeguard my life.”
Was it right for her to lie? Is lying ever justified? When Rebekah and Jacob teamed up to deceive Isaac to secure the coveted family blessing, the biblical text portrays them as manipulative and conniving (Gen. 27:1-29). Hence, in this situation, their lying is seen in a negative light. Conversely, when the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, disobey the Pharaoh’s edict to kill Hebrew male babies at birth, they saved them. When confronted by the incensed leader, they flat out lied: “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive (Ex. 1:19). For their brave actions, God blessed and rewarded them (Ex. 1:20), and by so doing, taught us a lesson about deception. While God hates lying (Ex. 20:16) and falsehood (Prov. 11:3) because they represent the essence of Satan’s character (John 8:44; Eph. 4:25), there are exceptional instances when human life is at stake that deception may be warranted.
In the field of ethics, this concept is known as graded absolutism. Regarding this Norman Geisler observes: “. . . there is a hierarchy of virtue, that moral duties sometimes conflict, and that we are not culpable for obeying the higher duty . . . there is a pyramid of value with God on the top, persons in the middle, and things on the bottom.”[2] Charles Hodge, the great theologian, argues for this position when he remarks, “. . . the principle itself is clearly inculcated by our Lord when He said, ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice; and when he taught that it was right to violate the Sabbath in order to save the life of an ox, or even to prevent its suffering.”[3]
Geisler goes on to demonstrate how there are higher and lower moral laws. To support this conclusion, he posits: “Perhaps the clearest indication of higher and lower moral laws comes in Jesus’s answer to the lawyer’s question about the “greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:34-40). Jesus affirms that the “first and greatest” is above the “second,” that loving God is of supreme importance, and then below that comes loving one’s neighbor . . . The popular belief is wrong; all sins are not created equal, for there are clearly higher and lower moral laws.”[4] In Michal’s situation, she was right insofar as she upheld the higher law to protect life as opposed to telling the truth and avoiding falsehood. Had she chosen the latter, she would have been guilty of a greater sin: failing to protect life. Hence, God worked in her complex actions to protect and safeguard David’s life so that he could go on and fulfill His regal plans for his anointed life. This is something God had done before with a young prostitute named Rahab. She lied to protect the Israelite spies hiding in her home from possible execution (Josh. 2:4-6). Her actions even led her to be placed in the biblical Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, viz., verse 31. Amazing. And she also became a forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus, because from her loins came David. Again, I say, amazing (Ruth 4:18-22).
Is it not interesting to see who God uses to protect His chosen ones providentially, you and me? Never forget this truth, especially when Doug is coming after you.
Inflamed by anger, ignited by his daughter’s clever actions, Saul set out to have his men track David down like a dog and kill him. As you might expect, it did not turn out as he planned.
The Rout (1 Sam. 19:18-24)
David did what you should do when a Saul-type is pursuing you. He found refuge, strength, and peace in the presence of a trusted friend.
18 Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. (1 Sam. 19)
Saul had spies everywhere, so it didn’t take long for his intel network to discover David’s location.
19 And it was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” (1 Sam. 19)
Armed with David’s whereabouts, Saul dispatched some armed killers to take David out:
20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. (1 Sam. 19)
Funny, isn’t it? Saul’s hit team came to take David out, and instead, God took them out by using his Spirit to turn them all into prophets who spoke God’s Word.
When Saul found out about this, instead of learning from it, he forged ahead with his wicked plan:
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. (1 Sam. 19)
This is comical. Saul sent out two more hit teams, and both of them lost control of their faculties, instantly becoming short-term prophets who spoke God’s word. Whoever said the Bible is boring? Not I.
Completely frustrated, Saul unwisely decided that he’d have to do the dirty work himself. The man obviously suffered from what we might logically call the David Derangement Syndrome.
22 Then he himself went to Ramah, and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” (1 Sam. 19)
So far, so good, but then he arrived at Naioth, the home of the prophetic school. That’s when God’s providential power came into play in his jealous and envy twisted life:
23 And he proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Sam. 19)
For 24 hours, King Saul became Prophet Saul and was utterly incapable of controlling his mouth or his body. Not only did this show that God would do what was needed to protect David, His anointed king, but it also showed Saul that God’s will would be fulfilled, no matter what the puny king devised. This final episode, coupled with all the others in the passage, also drives home this eternal truth to us as saints some 3,000 years later:
When someone wants to silence you,
God works to secure you so you can carry out His will.
The same living God who worked in David’s life to providentially protect and position him for a greater work is the same God who will do the same in your life. No, this doesn’t mean your life will be spared danger and hardship. Still, it means that no matter how difficult your situation becomes, never forget that God is strategically working in the hardship to set you up for loftier kingdom purposes.
And sometimes God even gets the attention of a Saul along the way.
A few years after I moved here from California, and some eight or nine years after I said goodbye to “Doug,” a couple dropped by the office one afternoon. The secretary informed me that someone wanted to speak with me, so I left my office to greet them.
When I rounded the corner, I couldn’t believe it. There was Doug and his lovely wife. “What are you guys doing here? How did you know where I was?” After they answered those questions, Doug said, “Pastor Marty, I just drove up here from North Carolina to say thank you for firing me. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I repented of my lying ways, and now I’m the pastor of a thriving church plant. So, thank you for doing what you did. It woke me up, and now God is using me in a great way.”
If you are Doug, there is hope for you, too. That hope is found at the nail-scarred feet of Jesus Christ.
[1] Tryon Edwards, Editor, The New Dictionary of Thoughts (The Standard Book Company, 1957), 178.
[2] Norman Geisler, Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 97-98.
[3] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1952), 3:437.
[4] Geisler, Christian Ethics, 101.