5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. 7 So the women sang as they danced, and said:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.”
8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.
12 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. 15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18 So David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.”
22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”
23 So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.”
25 Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired; 27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.
28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; 29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually. 30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
1 Samuel 18:5-30
Dear God, the thing that came up over and over again in this chapter is that David behaved wisely. He respected Saul and didn’t try to usurp him, which he could easily have done. He certainly had enough credibility built up with the people that mob mentality would have supported him overthrowing Saul. But then there would be civil war within the country and the people wouldn’t be focused on their enemies. And as I’ve seen others point out in their writings, David would have lost the high group and left himself vulnerable when he became king. He will protect your anointed like he will hope to be protected later.
As for Saul, he was an absolute mess. Things were spinning out of control around him. He wasn’t worshipping you at all. Not even trying. He was worshipping the idol of his throne–the thing that you gave him out of the blue. The thing given, not earned. And he knew that. I think it might be the “not earned” part that made him so insecure about it. David was building a ton of credibility among the people and even in his own eyes as he worked his way up the ladder. But Saul could only see the threat. He didn’t see the successes against his real enemies. He didn’t see the life as king David was helping him sustain. And he suspected the worst of David because our suspicions of others are aroused by the knowledge of ourselves. He knew that if he were in David’s position he would have surely tried to become king. Why wouldn’t David? Because at this point in his life, David was avoiding idols and simply worshipping you and doing what he felt you were calling him to do.
I would be remiss is I didn’t mention Michal. She seems like an innocent pawn in this story. We will see later that she will help David escape and earn her father’s wrath (and she’ll lie to her father to save herself as well). And she will make mistakes. But when I read these stories, I think about a teenager who is infatuated with someone. It’s kind of sweet if not a little sad.
Father, a lot of this is coming back to idolatry. As I look at these stories, it feels like Saul is holding onto something he knows he’s already lost and he is only making matters worse. And David is still looking for you and to you. He has nothing to lose so instead of trying to take something that belongs to someone else, he is living an obedient life, day by day. Help me to do that. Help me to live an obedient life today. I want to be your servant and let the world know I love you more than anything else.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 