As soon as David had finished speaking and explaining who he was, the soul of Jonathan (Saul’s son) was knit to the soul of David. Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day and wouldn’t let him return to his father’s house.
And Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his armor, sword, bow, and belt.
David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so he was given a high rank in the army. This was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
*It appears that David spoke with Saul in length, and he may have explained his actions as an expression of his faith in the Lord, thus attracting the love and loyalty of Jonathan. Their friendship endured even when it became clear that David was to replace him as the successor to his father’s throne.
**When Jonathan made a covenant with David, the initiative came from Jonathan. The terms of the agreement are not specified here, but would appear to involve a pledge of mutual loyalty and friendship. At the very least, Jonathan accepts David as his equal.
***Jonathan ratifies the covenant in an act that symbolizes himself to David. His act may even signify his recognition that David was to assume his place as successor to Saul; a possibility that seems more likely in that he also gave David “even his sword, his bow, and his belt.”
What am I missing here? I thought the Spirit of the Lord was away from Saul because God had rejected him. Why is he still king? If David is to be king, why isn’t he just made king…like now? Does Saul have to die, in order to be released as king, or is he just not going away? Does David know he is to be king? I’m pretty confused in all of this and their relationships, especially now that Jonathan and David are besties.
Of course Saul would eventually become jealous, or have a problem with David. This happened when they returned home after David had beaten Goliath, the Philistine.
All the women came out to meet King Saul with singing and dancing and joyful songs with tambourines and flutes. As they danced, they sang
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
1 Samuel 18:7
and David his ten thousands.”
*In accordance with the normal conversions of Hebrew poetry, this was the women’s way of saying “Saul and David have slain thousands” (10,000 was normally used as the parallel of 1,000). It is a measure of Saul’s insecurity and jealousy that he read their intentions incorrectly and took offense. His resentment may have been initially triggered by the mention of David’s name alongside his own.
So now Saul is pretty pissed because of the song thinking, they ascribed David to ten thousands and himself only to thousands. He questioned, “What more can he have but the kingdom?” From that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. But this time Saul had a spear in his hand and hurled it at David trying to pin him to the wall with it. But David eluded him twice.
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David and not with him anymore. Saul sent David away and gave him command over a thousand men, (most likely hoping he would be killed in battle). David led the troops and their campaigns, and “everything he did he was successful because the Lord was with him.”
When Saul saw how successful he was he was in fearful awe of him. But all of Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
Saul tried to give his oldest daughter to David for a wife. David questioned why he was worthy to be son-in-law to the king. But at the time she would have been given to him, she was given to someone else.
*David was entitled to have Saul’s daughter as his wife because of his victory over Goliath. (I already forgot about that). This promise had not been kept and is now made conditional on further military service, in which Saul hoped David would be killed.
Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it he was pleased. Saul thought she would be a snare to him and he would fall by the hands of the Philistines.
*God’s favor on David is revealed not only in his military accomplishments, but also in Michal’s love for him; now added to that of Jonathan. Everything Saul seeks to use against David turns to David’s advantage.
David was told that he would have a second chance to be the son-in-law to the King, but David questioned why he should have this opportunity. He said how he was a poor man and little known, and it was no small matter to be son-in-law to the king.
Saul explained there should be no other bride-price other than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies. Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
*Normally a bride-price was paid by the bridegroom to the father of the bride as compensation for the loss of his daughter and insurance for her support if widowed. Saul required David instead to pass a test appropriate for a great warrior, hoping he would “fall.”
So David went out before the allotted time elapsed and killed two hundred Philistines and brought their foreskins to Saul. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter loved him, Saul became even more afraid of him. He remained his enemy for the rest of his days.
The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David was met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers. David’s name became well known.
Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all of his attendants to kill David. But David was Jonathan’s best friend so he went and warned him. He told him to hide the next day, and he would talk to his father for him.
Jonathan spoke to Saul about David and he reminded him of all the great things he had done and how he had never wronged him. In fact, everything he had done had benefited Saul greatly and been a victory for Israel. Saul listened to Jonathan and took an oath, that no harm would come to David.
Once more war broke out and David went and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
An evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him again, and Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David planned his escape.
Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, warned him and said he must leave that night. So he climbed out the window and escaped.
Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goat hair at the head. When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said he was ill.
Saul didn’t care. He sent them back to capture him in his bed so he could kill him. They obviously realized he wasn’t there and had been tricked.
When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel and told him all that Saul had done. Saul sent more men to capture him, but he was there prophesying with Samuel. The Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they began prophesying too. He sent more men, and they too prophesied. Saul sent men a third time, and the same thing happened.
Finally, he went himself looking for David and Samuel. The Spirit of God even came upon him, and he prophesied as he walked. When he got to them, he stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He laid that way all that day and night, and made people question, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
*Saul was so overwhelmed by the power of the Spirit of God that he was prevented from carrying out his intention to take David’s life. His frustrated attempts to kill David, his own inability to harm David and the thwarting of his plans by Jonathan’s loyalty, by Michal’s deception and by David’s own cleverness — all reach their climax here.
Then David fled again and went to Jonathan asking him what he had done to his father that he should want him dead. Jonathan vowed again that he would protect him for his father knew he had found favor in his eyes.
David said that the next day was the new moon festival and he was supposed to dine with the king. Instead he wanted to hide in the field until evening of the following day. If Saul missed him at all, Jonathan would tell him David went to his home town of Bethlehem to be with his own clan.
If he says “very well,” then he would be safe, but if he got mad then he was sure he planned to harm him. Jonathan promised to let David know his father’s reaction and his plans to harm him or not.
And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
Jonathan told David to hide out and when he had word from his father he would shoot three arrows into the air as if he were shooting at a target. He would send a boy out to get the arrows. If he goes toward him all is safe, but if he sends him the other direction then David would need to escape.
When it came time for the festival, they all sat down at the table. David wasn’t there, but Saul didn’t seem to mind assuming something had happened that made him ceremonially unclean. By the second day, Saul asked Jonathan why David wasn’t there.
Jonathan repeated the plan he and David had come up with, saying that David had asked to go to Bethlehem. Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan knowing that he was in cahoots with David. He was furious, and commanded David be brought to him.
Jonathan asked again what David had done that his father wanted him dead. Saul hurled a spear at Jonathan trying to kill him, so he knew he intended to kill David. Jonathan left the table in anger and was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.
Jonathan went out and shot an arrow and the boy chased after it. The boy relayed the message that it wasn’t safe and David must go quickly!
After the boy had gone back to town, David got up from his hiding place and bowed down before Jonathan three times (a sign of submission and respect), with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together; but David wept the most.
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.