Saul became furious with Jonathan and said to him, “How rebellious and faithless your mother was! Now I know you are taking sides with David and are disgracing yourself and that mother of yours!“
So much for the religious facade; after all, there was no use in trying to fool his son Jonathan.
…“Don’t you realize that as long as David is alive, you will never be king of this country?
1 Samuel 20:27 – * Read More »
David replied, “…Please do me this favor, and keep the sacred promise you made to me. But if I’m guilty, kill me yourself. Why take me to your father to be killed?”
As with everything, Father, if what I’m doing is not of you, kill it. Why pursue something that will not endure?
……Jonathan said to David, “…May the Lord be with you as he was with my father!
1 Samuel 20:4 – 26 Read More »
David’s wife… took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats’ hair at its head, and put a cover over it.
Fascinating. How people looked at the world back then was deeply rooted in a “hodge podge” mix of beliefs (Genesis 35:2-4)! I wonder to what extent that’s true today? Of me?…
1 Samuel 19:8 – 20:3 Read More »
Saul realized clearly that the Lord was with David and also that his daughter Michal loved him. So he became even more afraid of David and was his enemy as long as he lived.
A bit like cement that slowly hardens to become rock hard. Fear. Jealousy. Hate. All of these deflect our attention from ourselves (Matthew 7:3). I see in Saul Satan himself: everything he tries to do or undo only serves God’s purposes.…
1 Samuel 18:28 – 19:7 Read More »
Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as your wife on condition that you serve me as a brave and loyal soldier, and fight the Lord’s battles.” (Saul was thinking that in this way the Philistines would kill David, and he would not have to do it himself.)
Saul is to David here as Satan was to Job 1:9-12!…
1 Samuel 18:17 – 27 Read More »
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but had abandoned him.
I can’t imagine a worse situation to be in. Please be ever with me, Lord; don’t ever abandon me (2 Samuel 7:15).
So Saul sent him away and put him in command of a thousand men. David led his men in battle…
A demotion with respect to 1 Samuel 18:5?…
1 Samuel 18:12 – 16 Read More »
When Saul saw David going out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is he?”
There’s an inconsistency here with 1 Samuel 16:19-22.
So when David returned to camp after killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was still carrying Goliath’s head.
Now that’s a calling card (2 Corinthiens 3:2-3)!…
1 Samuel 17:55 – 18:11 Read More »
And so, without a sword, David defeated and killed Goliath with a sling and a stone!
Samson killed 1000 men with a simple jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-16). The big difference though is that with David, all the glory was God’s – with Samson, it just seemed to be all about himself. May your glory be made manifest in me, Jesus (John 17:10).…
1 Samuel 17:50 – 54 Read More »
David answered, “…This very day the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat.”
What a declaration! Courage – audacity even. Does that spirit exist in me? If so, may it be seen, Lord! May it see the light one day…
…“Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people.
1 Samuel 17:46 – 49 Read More »
“All right,” Saul answered. “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Saul doesn’t get enough credit here! He discerned that the hand of God was with David and gave him free reign, much like Pharaoh did with Joseph (Genesis 41:37-43). How frustrating it must have been for Saul to see that what came naturally to David, he had to proceed as if memorizing lines for a part in a play that was not destined for him.…
1 Samuel 17:37b – 45 Read More »