An Ally to the Allies and an Enemy to the Enemies

1 Samuel 18

Have you ever known someone who was the best person to be in your corner, but if you crossed them they could be your worst enemy. I had a boss like this once. If he agreed with your idea, he would go to bat for you and there was almost no way that it wouldn’t be a success. But if he disagreed with your plan, he would fight you all the way. I quickly learned that it wasn’t even worth moving forward if he wasn’t on board. He was either your greatest ally or your worst opponent.

That is the way it is with God. If He is for you, then no one can stand against you. But if He is against you, then you are fighting a losing battle.

Jonathan and David - 1 Samuel 18:1-4

After David killed Goliath, he no longer went back and forth between tending his father’s sheep and serving Saul. Instead, the king took him into his permanent service, and David became very close friends with his son. Jonathan even gave David all his military gear, and they vowed their loyalty to one another. Did Jonathan do this because he believed in David and saw that the mighty warrior had no equipment of his own? Or was he trying to express that he counted David as close as a brother who would obviously be intitled to everything that Jonathan had been given by his father? Regardless of why David was given the equipment, it was meant for the prince of Israel, the one who would eventually take over the kingdom. So, this was a foreshadow of who David would eventually become. Whether Jonathan was aware of it or not, David would succeed Saul as king one day.

Saul is Jealous of David – 1 Samuel 18:5-16

Because of David’s victory over Goliath, Saul made him one of the commanders of his army. David was successful, and the people praised him. But when Saul heard the women singing about how he had struck down thousands of men but David had killed tens of thousands, he got very jealous. The king realized that the only thing he had over David was the throne. After that, Saul began paying very close attention to the young warrior.

Then, when God sent another troubling spirit upon the king, David came to play the harp for him. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and in a fit of rage, he hurled it across the room at David. The musician dodged Saul’s attempts on his life that day, presumably not realizing that the king was trying to harm him. He probably just thought that Saul was upset, throwing things across the room, and he just happened to be in the way.

Then, Saul got increasingly more afraid of David and sent him off to battle. But because God was with him, David continued to be successful. Also, because David spent a lot of time with the people and wasn’t shut up in the palace, the people loved him. But Saul was jealous and concerned.

Saul Gives David a Wife – 1 Samuel 18:17-30

Because Saul wanted to get rid of David and he had promised his oldest daughter to the man who killed Goliath, Saul offered her to David if he would go against the Philistines again. The king hoped he would be killed in battle, which would eliminate him as a threat without him having to get his hands dirty and risk the people’s displeasure. But David said he felt unworthy to be the king’s son-in-law and Saul gave Merab to Adriel in marriage.

Then, when Saul heard that his younger daughter Michal loved David, he decided to offer her to him instead, hoping she could help her father attack him from the inside. So, the king sent his servants to ask David again to be to be his son-in-law. When David stated that he was a poor man without means, the king told him that he would not require a bride-price. Instead, he would accept what he knew David had to give, which was his service as a warrior. If he would kill 100 Philistines, the king would let him marry Michal. At that, David felt he would be earning her hand, so he hurried off to complete the task before the king’s offer expired.

Then, David killed twice the number of enemies required and brought their foreskins to Saul as proof. When he killed Goliath, David had brought the king his head. But this time, Saul required their foreskins as proof. As unbelievers they had never been circumcised. This was a way of saying that they had been made to believe in God, seeing his power through their own death. So, in exchange for the lives of two hundred Philistines, David received Michal as his wife. But when Saul realized that his daughter truly loved David and would not side with him against her husband, in addition to the fact that God was obviously with him, the king was even more afraid.