WEEK 1 ● Day 3

READ 1 SAMUEL 18

Today we’re going to get a fuller picture of David as he penned Psalm 59. Let’s dig in a little more to what was going on in his life during this time and figure out why on earth Saul wanted him dead.

We learn in 1 Samuel 18 that “in everything [David] did he had great success, because the LORD was with him” (18:14, NIV). David did all he was asked and then some. He went from shepherd boy who delivered food to his brothers in battle (1 Samuel 17:17-19) to the hero of it all (1 Samuel 17:32-51). He was taken into the palace (1 Samuel 18:2) and became the king’s number one musician (1 Samuel 16:14-23), his most successful warrior (1 Samuel 18:5, 12-16), his son’s best friend (1 Samuel 18:1-4), and his daughter’s husband (1 Samuel 18:22-27).

David went from zero to hero with one swing of a stone and was forced to run for his life from the king himself, who couldn’t control his envy and sought to kill him (1 Samuel 18:28-29).

I heard once that jealousy has two victims, and that is certainly true here.

1. What was Saul jealous about? Why did he want to kill David? (See 1 Samuel 18.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1 Samuel 19:9-10, we see Saul’s attempt to pin David to the wall with his spear while David was playing the harp. David barely escaped with his life (and this was not the first time Saul has attempted to kill David!). The next morning, Saul sent men to David’s house to try again to kill the young warrior.

Luckily, David had people on his side who believed in him and loved him dearly. Jonathan, King Saul’s son, was David’s most cherished friend and simply couldn’t understand his father’s treatment of David. Jonathan was stuck in the middle and yet never wavered in devotion to either man, loving them both. He knew what his father was up to and warned his best friend that trouble was coming. David’s wife Michal (also King Saul’s child) must have been observant enough to see her father’s plans unfolding outside her front door and warned, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” Letting David down through a window, the brave Michal saved her husband, allowing him to escape. She had no idea, of course, but the moment she let David down from that window, she lost the man she loved dearly. Eventually her father would remarry her to someone else. It wouldn’t be till years later (after David had several more wives) that David would seek to reclaim her. Michal never had children with either husband.

Saul’s jealousy ruined a marriage. He forced a young man to run for his life. He turned his greatest warrior into a fugitive who began living in caves.

There’s a little more to this story, though —and it has to do with trustworthiness and obedience in our relationship with God.

My husband, Ben, and I were talking to one of our kids about trust one night. Our teenage son wanted responsibility in something and yet was asking that we put boundaries on something else that he knew he couldn’t be trusted with. We told him that responsibility and trust go hand in hand: We could either treat him like the young adult that he is, or we could treat him as a child. We wanted to teach him that he couldn’t pick and choose where he liked having freedom and responsibility —and where he didn’t. It was a package deal.

We discover this same interplay between trust and responsibility in 1 Samuel 15. Go ahead and read that chapter now.

2. Like our son, Saul thought he could pick and choose where he wanted to obey God. In verse 1, what reminder does Samuel give him?

 

 

A few chapters back, Saul made some sacrifices to God on his own instead of waiting for Samuel like he had been asked, so the priest no longer trusted him. Perhaps Samuel wanted to remind the king that it was God who placed him in this position of leadership. The One True King in heaven was actually in charge.

Samuel goes on to give Saul God’s instructions for dealing with the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2-3).

3. Does Saul do exactly as he’s been asked?

 

Samuel goes to meet Saul early in the morning and is told that he has gone to another town to set up a monument in his own honor. (Who does that?! C’mon, Saul.) When Samuel reaches the town of Carmel, the king comes out to greet him, saying, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions!” (1 Samuel 15:13, NIV).

Saul is so pleased with himself. I love how Samuel responds with dry sarcasm —basically saying, “Oh yeah? Then what’s this bleating of sheep in my ears? Why am I hearing lowing of oxen?” (15:14). Saul tries to make excuses and defend himself, but his disobedience is impossible to cover up.

The next two verses we’ll look at, 1 Samuel 15:22-23, have long been underlined in my Bible.

4. Read 1 Samuel 15:22-23 in your favorite translation. What’s the most important point from this passage?

 

 

 

We absolutely cannot go ahead of God on things. We may not pick and choose where we will obey, where we can be trustworthy and where we simply sweep things under the rug or ignore God’s commands.What we need to ponder is this: Does God want our sacrifices and empty traditions that we do simply for show or because we think we’re supposed to do it? Where are our hearts?

Doing something for the Lord is actually worth nothing if it’s done purely out of habit rather than out of love. What God wants is an obedient and willing heart! God desires for us to listen and respond in accordance with what He’s asked. God would far rather you obey than give something up.

5. What have you sacrificed in your life that you think might justify not obeying in another area?

 

 

 

As Samuel tells Saul that God is ripping the kingdom from his hands and giving it to another man who is better than he (1 Samuel 15:28), Saul apologizes for his actions (of course). It’s the same today, isn’t it? When someone abuses power and gets caught, remorse and regret slither out of their mouths. But it’s often empty and solely spoken to regain power, not because they are actually sorry.

This establishes the beginning of the end of Saul’s reign . . . and the anointing of the new king.

6. What happens in chapter 16, soon after this conversation between Saul and Samuel?

 

 

 

Exactly, David and Goliath! It’s here that young David becomes a household name . . . and King Saul’s anxiety begins to simmer.

7. After learning what happened in 1 Samuel 15 —and watching the arrival of David on the scene in chapter 16 —how might you explain Saul’s treatment of David?

 

 

 

 

 

David was not out for Saul’s throne. But Saul simply couldn’t wrap his mind around that fact. The young man who brought joy and support to the king would soon become a source of anger and resentment. The king’s jealousy went unchecked and boiled over to the point that he simply couldn’t rein it in himself.

8. Let’s look back at Psalm 59. Does David’s freak-out mode make more sense now? Describe a time when it felt like evil was stationed outside your door or a jealous someone was trying to take you down. How did you respond?

 

 

 

 

 

We get all sorts of storied detail in 1 Samuel 18, and Psalm 59 shows us David’s inner turmoil as his life was turned upside down. But Psalm 59 also shows us something extraordinary: Even as David was running for his life, internally flailing in fear, we see him saying yes and clinging to God. Like David, we can bring our fear and confusion to God when our world feels like it’s being upended —but let’s also have the courage to move toward Him in the midst of it.

Wrap up today by spending some time with the Lord, reflecting on all you learned today and what He may be wanting to teach you through it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amen.