Saul Tries to Kill David

Review:

The birth of Samuel.
–          Samuel’s parents were Elkanah and Hannah.

Samuel given to the Lord by Hannah, his mother.
–          Samuel became an apprentice in the temple under the supervision of Eli the priest.

Eli the priest and his worthless sons.

The Lord calls Samuel.
–          Samuel was a priest, prophet, and judge.

Samuel was God’s spokesman for all of Israel.

The Philistines capture the Ark of God.

The Philistines return the ark of God.

Samuel, as the Judge of Israel, leads the Israelites to victory over the Philistines.

Israel requests a king.

Samuel privately anoints Saul as king.

Initially Saul was a good king.

Continued war with the Philistines.

Jonathan was Saul’s son.
–          Jonathan most likely would have made a good king, but that was not God’s plan for Israel.

The Lord rejects Saul.  Saul’s kingship was a failure.

Samuel privately anoints David as king.

David kills Goliath.

 

The conclusion of the previous lesson.

1 Samuel 18:27-30
… So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
²⁸ When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
³⁰ Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.

There was a time when Saul loved David.

1 Samuel 16:21-22 NLT
²¹ So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.
²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

• Saul was afraid of David, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.

• David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lordwas with him.

1 Samuel 19:1-10 NLT
Saul Tries to Kill David
^19:1 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, ² told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. ³ I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”
⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”
⁶ So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”
⁷ Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.
⁸ War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.
⁹ But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, ¹⁰ Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

Examine the Scriptures

1 Samuel 19:1-10 NLT
Saul Tries to Kill David
^19:1 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David.

David’s success against Israel’s enemy, the Philistines, caused Saul to act irrationally.

Prior to this, Saul was hoping that David would be killed by the Philistines.

1 Samuel 18:12-16 NLT
¹² Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. ¹³ Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

• Saul’s urged his servants and his son, Jonathan, to kill David.

Saul wants David completely out of his life. 

But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,  

Previous chapter

^18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 

• When David met Jonathan, there was an immediate bond between the two young men.

Where did this affection come from? (Clearly this was a result of God’s intervention.)

1 Thessalonians 4:9 NLT
⁹ But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 NLT
¹² And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

1 John 4:7 NLT
⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.

1 John 3:16 NLT
¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Proverbs 17:17 NLT
¹⁷ A friend is always loyal,
and a brother is born to help in time of need. 

• Jonathan was a true friend and true friends are faithful in times of adversity.

Jonathan continues to be David’s best friend, even when he knows David, not him, will be the next king of Israel.

1 Samuel 23:17 NLT
¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.”

Back to 1 Samuel 19: 

² told him what his father was planning. 

^19:1 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. 

• God, in His infinite mercy, used Saul’s son Jonathan to inform David of Saul’s evil intensions. 

“Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.  

³ I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

• Jonathan was truly concerned about David’s welfare. 

⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”

Jonathan stood up for David.

• Jonathan reminded his father, Saul, that David had done nothing to deserve death.

Jonathan appealed to his father to do the right thing.

⁶ So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”

• Jonathan temporarily convinced his father that it would be wrong for him to kill David.

⁷ Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

⁸ War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away. 

⁹ But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, 

• The Lord had turned away from Saul. (1 Samuel 18:12)

The Lord sent a tormenting spirit.  This was a tormenting spirit, not the Lord Himself.

Evil spirits are subject to God’s control.

Saul was mentally unbalanced.

Saul’s behaviors are predictable.

Galatians 5:19-21 NLT
¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

¹⁰ Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

Saul:

• Jealousy, rage, and anger once again dominated Saul and he attempted to kill David.

1 Samuel 18:10 NLT (the previous chapter)
¹⁰ The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. 

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
⁹ “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?

David:

• The Lord was with David.

^18:12 Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul.  

^18:14 David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him.  

 

Psalm 18:1-3 NLTA psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:
¹ I love you, Lord;
you are my strength (defender).
² The Lord is my rock (protector), my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
    and my place of safety.
³ I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.

Psalm 145:20 NLT
²⁰ The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys the wicked.

• The Lord protects all those who love him.

Encouragement for us.

1 John 4:9-15 NLT
⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.

• All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.   (1 John 4:15)

 

 

 

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

1 Samuel 18:17-30 NLT
¹⁷ One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
¹⁸ “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” ¹⁹ So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
²⁰ In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. ²¹ “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
²² Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
²³ When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
²⁴ When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, ²⁵ he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
²⁶ David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, ²⁷ he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
²⁸ When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
³⁰ Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 18:17-30 NLT

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

¹⁷ One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.”

David had already “earned” the right to marry one of Saul’s daughters.  Now Saul was adding addition conditions to his original promise.

• Saul reneged on a promise he had already made to David.

1 Samuel 17:25 NLT
²⁵ “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

“Fighting the Lord’s battles” would be a challenging appeal to David.

Saul knew that David was committed to serving the Lord. 

For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”

• Saul’s gesture was a snare. It was an attempt to have David killed in battle.

Saul did not grasp the fact that “the Lord was with him (David)”.

Why didn’t Saul kill David?  As king he could have easily arranged to have David killed.

David was loved by the people of Israel and Judah.

1 Samuel 18:16 NLT
¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

Most likely Saul did not want to kill David for fear of a negative response from the people of Israel and Judah.

Note:

Notice the similarity between Saul’s treachery and that of David with Uriah.

2 Samuel 11:15 NLT
¹⁵ The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 

¹⁸ “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” 

David felt unworthy to marry a daughter of the king.

• Family lineage was normally crucial when marrying into the king’s family.

Note who King Solomon married.

1 Kings 11:3 NLT
³ He had 700 wives of royal birth …

Frequently kings married the daughters of other kings to form alliances.

Saul was interested in David’s lineage.

Previously Saul was asking about David’s lineage:

1 Samuel 17:55-58 NLT
⁵⁵ As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
⁵⁶ “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.” 

¹⁹ So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.

Another broken promise.

Before anything happened between David and Merab, Saul gave Merab to another man.

Note:
Later, we read where David handed over 5 of Merab and Adriel’s sons to the Gibeonites to be executed. 

²⁰ In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David,

Two of Saul’s children loved David while their father Saul was trying to kill him. 

and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. ²¹ “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”

Here again Saul this as an opportunity to get rid of David.

²² Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”

This is clearly a lie.

• Saul lied to David. 

²³ When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”

Normally the “bride price” or dowry was money and the amount of money for a king’s daughter would be far more than David could afford.

• David’s family could not afford the bride price to marry a king’s daughter. 

²⁴ When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, ²⁵ he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! 

Such mutilation of the bodies of slain enemies was commonly practiced in ancient warfare.

• In place of the normal dowry, David could earn the privilege of marrying Michal by killing 100 Philistines. 

Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.

Saul lied again.

Proverbs 12:22 NLT
²² The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in those who tell the truth.

Saul used Michal to lure David into what he thought would be a fatal encounter with the Philistines. 

²⁶ David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, ²⁷ he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines.

• God protected David, and he and his men were able to kill twice as Philistines than Saul had specified.

Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.

David became Saul’s son-in-law by marrying Michal.

²⁸ When Saul realized that the Lord was with David

It appears that Saul himself never made any attempt to restore his relationship with God.

and how much his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.

Saul’s fear of David was unfounded.  David consistently honored Saul as king.

David did not kill Saul when he had the opportunity to do so.

1 Samuel 24:6-7 NLT
⁶ He (David) said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” ⁷ So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.

1 Samuel 26:9-11 NLT
⁹ “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? ¹⁰ … ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! … 

³⁰ Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.

• David’s military successes continued and his popularity increased.

1 Samuel 18:14 NLT
¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 

• David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him.

A reminder for us.

Isaiah 41:10 NLT  (The promise of God’s presence is central to the Bible.)
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

 

 

Saul Becomes Jealous of David

1 Samuel 18:1-16 NLT
^18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. ² From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. ³ And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. ⁴ Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
⁵ Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.
⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals ⁷ This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
⁸ This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” ⁹ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
¹⁰ The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, ¹¹ and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.
¹² Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. ¹³ Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him.
¹⁵ When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

Examine the Scriptures

1 Samuel 18:1-16 NLT
Saul Becomes Jealous of David

^18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul,

It appears that David may have had a lengthy conversation with Saul after killing Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:57 NLT
⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul …

he met Jonathan, the king’s son.

David and Jonathan had a lot in common.

Both were military heroes.

Both had a strong faith in God.

Both had a claim to the throne.

As Saul’s oldest son, Jonathan was heir apparent to the throne.

David had been selected by God (1 Samuel 16) to become the King of Israel. 

There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 

More about this in verse 3.

This love went both ways.

2 Samuel 9:1 NLT
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
^9:1 One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 

• When David and Jonathan met, there was an immediate and long lasting bond between the two men. 

² From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. 

This was self-serving on Saul’s part.

Samuel warned the Israelites that this would happen.

1 Samuel 8:11 NLT
¹¹ “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.

David had previously served Saul on a “part time” basis.

1 Samuel 16:23 NLT
²³ And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

1 Samuel 17:15 NLT
¹⁵ but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. 

Now David was in a position where Saul could “keep an eye on him”.

• David was exposed to the duties and responsibilities of a king.

First as a shepherd.

Now in the palace of the king.

God’s sovereignty is manifested through these events in David’s life. 

³ And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David,

Jonathan iniated this pact.

19:1 … But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, … 

20:8  … for we made a solemn pact before the Lord … 

20:17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

 20:42 At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.”  

22:8  For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse.  

23:18  So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. 

because he loved him as he loved himself. 

Mark 12:30-31 NLT
³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 

• The pact between Jonathan and David appears to a pledge of mutual loyalty and friendship. 

 ⁴ Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

Jonathan gave David items that symbolized his official status as the king’s son and heir to the throne.

• Jonathan symbolically (perhaps unintentionally) gave David his right of succession to the throne.

Later:

1 Samuel 23:17 NLT
¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” 

⁵ Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully.

Refer to verse 14.
¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 

• David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 

So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike. 

⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals  

⁷ This was their song:

“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”

This may have been Hebrew parallelism.

Meaning Saul and David together have killed many thousands.

However, this is a song that Saul hated.

⁸ This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands.

“It is a measure of Saul’s insecurity and jealousy that he read the women’s intensions incorrectly and took offence.” (NIV Study Bible) 

Next they’ll be making him their king!” ⁹ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

• Saul was jealous of David. 

¹⁰ The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman.

• A tormenting spirit caused Saul to act and speak irrationally.

1 Samuel 16:14 NLT
¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

Another example of Saul’s irrational behavior:

1 Samuel 20:33 NLT
³³ Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.

David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, ¹¹ and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.

Clearly God was protecting David.  Saul was a seasoned warrior skilled with using weapons of war.

• The Lord was with David, but He had left Saul. 

¹² Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. 

• Saul was afraid of David. 

¹³ Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.

What Saul really wanted was for David to be killed.

1 Samuel 18:17-25 NLT
¹⁷ One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.” 

²⁰ In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. ²¹ “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”

²⁵ he (Saul) told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.

1 Samuel 19:1 NLT
19 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David.

• Saul wanted David to be killed.

Joseph (a similar experience)

Genesis 50:20 NLT
²⁰ You (Joseph’s brothers) intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Isaiah 55:8 NLT
⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 

¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 

¹⁵ When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. 

James 4:1-3 NLT
^4:1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? ² You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. ³ And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

• All Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

 

David Kills Goliath

1 Samuel 17:32-58 NLT
³² “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
³³ “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
³⁴ But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. ³⁶ I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
³⁸ Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. ³⁹ David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. ⁴⁰ He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
⁴¹ Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, ⁴² sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. ⁴³ “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! ⁴⁷ And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
⁴⁸ As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. ⁵¹ Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

Israel Routs the Philistines
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. ⁵⁴ (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
⁵⁵ As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
⁵⁶ “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 17:32-58 NLT
David Kills Goliath

³² “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

• David was not the only person who faced a giant.

A similar story from 400 years previous to this, that David may have known.

Twelve scouts explore Canaan.

Numbers 13:30-33 NLT
³⁰ But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
³¹ But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” ³² So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. ³³ We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Numbers 14:8-9 NLT (Joshua and Caleb speaking)
⁸ And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

When we get to 2 Samuel 21 we will read more stories about facing giants.

As we go through life we all face giants of different forms.  These giants are obstacles or challenges that are humanly impossible to overcome.

We can all learn valuable lessons from this story about David facing Goliath.

• David’s courage stands in contrast to Saul’s fear.

1 Samuel 17:11 NLT
¹¹ When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

³³ “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

• In human terms, Goliath was invincible.

Saul does not have the same perspective that David has.  Saul failed to consider the Lord’s intervention. 

³⁴ But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. ³⁶ I have done this to both lions and bears,

Lions and bears were common in the land at this time. 

and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 

³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

• David’s confidence did not rest in his own skill but in the power of the living God.

Psalm 54:4 NLT (written by David)
⁴ But God is my helper.
The Lord keeps me alive!

• David’s faith contrasts sharply with Saul’s lack of faith.

David understood the following passages of scripture that fit in well with this story.

Joshua 1:9 NLT
⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Nahum 1:2 NLT
² The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!

Zechariah 9:15 NLT
¹⁵ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people,
and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones.

Genesis 12:3 NLT
³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 

Exodus 23:27 NLT
²⁷ “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.

Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a faith similar to David’s faith.

1 Samuel 14:6 NLT
⁶ “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” 

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

Saul may have had a partial understanding of David’s testimony in verses 34 – 37. 

³⁸ Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. ³⁹ David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.  

Later in his life David wrote:

Psalm 28:7 NLT
⁷ The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart. 

⁴⁰ He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

• David equipped himself with the tools of a shepherd.

David likely became proficient using a sling as a shepherd protecting his sheep.

Slings were also used by warriors.

Judges 20:16 NLT
¹⁶ Among Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing.

It is possible for stones hurled from a sling to travel at speeds close to one hundred miles per hour.

Slings were used to hit targets as far as 600 feet away. 

⁴¹ Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, ⁴² sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 

Youthful looking boy rather than a seasoned warrior.

⁴³ “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?”

The word “dog” symbolizes things that are hated, impure, sinful, and disgusting.

Goliath uttered a statement of ironic truth about himself of which even he was unaware.  As a wild dog can be a threat to the flock and must be chased away or killed, Goliath as a threat to Israel must be killed.

Apparently Goliath did not see David’s sling. 

And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 

• Since Goliath appealed to his gods, David’s victory over Goliath would symbolize God’s victory over the gods of the Philistines.

Dagon, the chief god of the philistines.
Ashtaroth (31:10) was also a god of the Philistines. 

⁴⁴ “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

• In Israel, being left unburied and exposed to birds and beasts was considered to be a terrible curse.

Deuteronomy 28:25-26 NLT (Curses for disobedience.)
²⁵ “The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.

Psalm 79:1-4 NLT
A psalm of Asaph.
¹ O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
² They have left the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
has become food for the wild animals.
³ Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
⁴ We are mocked by our neighbors,
an object of scorn and derision to those around us. 

⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 

• David’s strength was his reliance on the Lord.

Proverbs 18:10 NLT
¹⁰ The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
the godly run to him and are safe.

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 NLT
Regulations concerning War
^20:1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! ² When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. ³ He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

⁴⁶ Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals,

• David accurately predicted the outcome of the battle.

Here the curse is directed to the Philistines. 

and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 

• David fought in the name of the Lord and for the glory of the Lord.

⁴⁷ And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear.

Iron weapons were scarce in Israel. 

This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

• Despite any military advantage the Philistine army may have had, David knew that the battle belonged to the Lord.

⁴⁸ As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

A portion of Goliath’s forehead remained exposed beneath his helmet.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. ⁵¹ Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. 

David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

The stone had only stunned Goliath. David used Goliath’s own sword to kill him by cutting off his head.

• David triumphed over Goliath with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.

Israel Routs the Philistines
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 

The Philistines may have seen this defeat as a judgment of their gods.

The Philistines did not honor Goliath’s original proposal.

1 Samuel 17:9 NLT
⁹ If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 

• When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron.

Gath was 6 miles to the west.  Ekron was 5 miles north of Gath.

The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 

David’s prediction come true.

Shaaraim was a city of Judah near Azekah.

⁵³ Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 

Unless expressly prohibited, the taking of war spoils was a common practice.

Joshua 8:1-2 NLT
The Israelites Defeat Ai
^8:1-2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. ² You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town.” 

⁵⁴ (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)

Jerusalem was probably the final destination of Goliath’s head.

At this time Jerusalem was controlled by the Jebusites.

Later in the story:
2 Samuel 5:6-7 NLT
David Captures Jerusalem
⁶ David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. ⁷ But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

David may have kept Goliath’s head as a trophy of victory and brought the skull with him to Jerusalem when he made the city his capital.

Or

David may have displayed Goliath’s head to the Jebusites as a warning of what the God of Israel was able to do and would eventually do to them. 

⁵⁵ As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”

“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.

Saul almost certainly knew who David was and was only asking for the name of David’s father.

⁵⁶ “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.

David was going to marry into his family.

⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”

 

Goliath Challenges the Israelites

1 Samuel 17:1-31 NLT
^17:1 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. ² Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. ³ So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.
⁴ Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! ⁵ He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. ⁶ He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. ⁷ The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
⁸ Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! ⁹ If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! ¹⁰ I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” ¹¹ When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp
¹² Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. ¹³ Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. ¹⁴ David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.
¹⁶ For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.
¹⁷ One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. ¹⁸ And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” ¹⁹ David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
²⁰ So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. ²¹ Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. ²² David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. ²³ As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
²⁴ As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. ²⁵ “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
²⁶ David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
²⁷ And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
²⁸ But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
²⁹ “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” ³⁰ He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. ³¹ Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 17:1-31 NLT
Goliath Challenges the Israelites 

^17:1 The Philistines

1 Samuel 14:52 NLT
⁵² The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. 

• The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. 

now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 

Socoh and Azekah were towns of Judah.
Socoh was 14-15 miles west of Bethlehem near the Philistine border.
Azekah was a few miles northwest of Socoh.

• The Philistines were encroaching on Israelite territory.

Note the location of the Philistine cities Gath and Ekron on a map.

² Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. 

 ³ So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

Apparently both armies were intimidated by their opponent. 

⁴ Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath,

Gath- one of the five major Philistine cities.

Came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! 

Gath was known for having giants as citizens.

Goliath stood between the two armies of the Philistines and Israel.

⁵ He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. ⁶ He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. ⁷ The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds.  

His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield. 

• In human terms, Goliath was invincible. 

⁸ Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! ⁹ If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! ¹⁰ I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”  

• Rival forces would sometimes agree to let selected individuals from each side decide a conflict.

Both sides assumed that the “gods” would use this to determine the winning side.  This method was more “economical” and the lives of many soldiers would be spared.

This does not always work out as planned.  See 2 Samuel 2:14-17. 

¹¹ When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

• Goliath terrified Saul and the Israelite soldiers.

No one was willing to take on this Goliath.

Skip ahead to verse 24:

²⁴ As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.  

Goliath was the Israeli soldier’s worst nightmare come true.

• It appears that Israel forgot God’s covenant promises.

Exodus 23:22 NLT
²² But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.

Deuteronomy 3:22 NLT
²² Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 NLT
^20:1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! ² When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. ³ He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

Look closely at:

Joshua 1:7-9 NLT
⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

• Some of God’s promises are conditional.

Obey God’s instructions.
Study scripture continually.
Meditate on scripture.
Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.

Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp

¹² Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. ¹³ Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. ¹⁴ David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army,  

¹⁵ but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.

1 Samuel 14:52 NLT
⁵² The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army.

1 Samuel 16:21-23 NLT
²¹ So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer. (MacArthur stated that Saul had many armor bearers.)  ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”
²³ And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away. 

1 Samuel 17:55-58 NLT
⁵⁵ As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
⁵⁶ “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.” 

David spent time tending his father’s sheep as well as serving Saul “part time”.  The intermittent nature of David’s service might explain why Saul was unfamiliar with the details of David’s life.  David was present in Saul’s life during the times that “the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled Saul with depression and fear” (v. 16:14).  Saul wasn’t in his right mind. (not rational)

David’s position with Saul was not “permanent” until chapter 18.

1 Samuel 18:2 NLT
² From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home.

• David spent time tending his father’s sheep as well as serving Saul “part time”. 

¹⁶ For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.

“Strutted”

Presented himself.
Took his stand.
Gave his challenge.
Taunted (v.23)

Clearly, this behavior for 40 days would be very demoralizing to the Israelite army.

• For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army. 

¹⁷ One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. ¹⁸ And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” ¹⁹ David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. 

²⁰ So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him.

¹⁵ but David went back and forth 

He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. ²¹ Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. ²² David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. ²³ As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. 

²⁴ As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. ²⁵ “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. 

The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

• Saul offered a sizeable reward to anyone who would kill Goliath.

²⁶ David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? 

• As we read on in the story, it is clear that David’s motivation is silence Goliath’s defiance of God, not to receive some huge reward from King Saul. 

Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

David viewed Goliath as a pagan, defying the living God.

1 Samuel 17:45 NLT
⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 

• David sees the issue clearly, unlike Saul and the other Israelites, David sees this as a spiritual battle.

Biblical principles we need to apply to our lives.

Colossians 3:23-24 NLT
²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

David understood this principle.  David was working for the Lord, not for King Saul.

Ephesians 6:12 NLT
¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” In other words, the fight is not against governments or people or companies or circumstances. Our battle is against the unseen world of spiritual evil that surrounds us.

• David’s motivation was to serve the Lord. 

²⁷ And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

²⁸ But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

Eliab was angry, perhaps resentful that David, rather than he, was anointed to be king (16:6-13).

• Eliab does not understand why his younger brother is willing to do something that all of the other Israelite soldiers are afraid to do.

²⁹ “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” ³⁰ He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. ³¹ Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

Samuel Anoints David as King

1 Samuel 16:1-13 NLT
^16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”
² But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”
⁴ So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”
⁵ “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.
⁶ When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
⁸ Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” ⁹ Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” ¹⁰ In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”<
¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

Examine the Scriptures

Similarities between Saul and David.

Both men were anointed by Samuel.

Neither one was pursuing the position.

Both were unlikely candidates.

Saul was from the smallest tribe.

David was the youngest son.

Both were impressive in appearance.

The Spirit came mightily on each when he was anointed king.

1 Samuel 16:1-13 NLT
Samuel Anoints David as King 

^16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel,

The Lord spoke to Samuel.

1 Samuel 3:1 NLT
The Lord Speaks to Samuel
^3:1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.

The Lord spoke to Samuel.

The Lord spoke to Samuel when he was a boy. (1 Samuel 3)

The Lord spoke to Samuel when he was an adult.

1 Samuel 9:17
¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “That’s the man I told you about! He will rule my people.” 

In today’s lesson:

1 Samuel 16:12 NLT
¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

• In those days messages from the Lord were very rare, but God did speak to Samuel.  

“You have mourned long enough for Saul.

1 Samuel 15:34-35 NLT
³⁴ Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. 

• After Saul and Samuel parted company, Samuel mourned constantly for Saul. 

I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is in Judah, about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, and about 10 miles from Ramah.

Luke 2:11 NLT
¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 

Find a man named Jesse who lives there,

Jesse was a descendant of Perez, son of Judah and Tamar. (Refer to family tree of Ruth)

Jesse was the Grandson of Boaz and Ruth.

Ruth 4:21-22 NLT
²¹ … Boaz was the father of Obed.
²² Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David. 

Ruth 4:18-22 NLT
¹⁸ This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron.
¹⁹ Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
²⁰ Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
²¹ Salmon was the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed.
²² Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David. 

Genesis 49:10 NLT
¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will honor.

• David was a descendent of Judah. 

for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

• God chose David to be the next king of Israel.

At this point in time, Samuel did not know that David would be chosen as the next king of Israel.

Romans 13:1 NLT
^13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

Scripture describes David as:

A man after God’s own heart. A man better than you (Saul). A neighbor of yours (Saul).

1 Samuel 13:14 NLT
¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

1 Samuel 15:28 NLT
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.

1 Samuel 15:28 ESV
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, (KJV, NIV, RSV, ASV) who is better than you. 

• God commissioned Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel. 

² But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The road from Ramah to Bethlehem passed through Gibeah of Saul. (Refer to a map)

1 Samuel 15:34 NLT
³⁴ Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

Saul already knew that the Lord had chosen someone to replace him as king.

Samuel fears that jealousy will incite Saul to violence.

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 

The Lord told Samuel to say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord” so it should not be considered morally wrong.

• God’s strategy is always right.

Isaiah 55:9 NLT
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 

³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

Samuel did not know that David would be chosen as the next king of Israel.

Anoint:

Set apart as king.

Separation to the Lord for a particular task and divine equipping for the task.

• Note: David will actually be anointed three times.

First here, second as king of Judah, and third as king of Israel. 

⁴ So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

News of Samuel’s rebuke of Saul and execution of Agag had likely reached Bethlehem.

⁵ “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” 

Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

Purification and Sacrifice

ESV & NIV: Consecrate yourself (setting apart to the worship or service of God.)

ASV: sanctify (setting apart for a sacred purpose)

CEB: make yourself holy.

CEV: Get yourself ready.

Exodus 19:10 NLT
¹⁰ Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing.

Numbers 8:21NLT
²¹ The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the Lord as a special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the Lord. 

Numbers 19:19
… the people being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe themselves, …

• Worship of God was always preceded by cleansing or washing and putting on clean clothes. 

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

Eliab had an impressive outward appearance.

This had also been true for Saul.

1 Samuel 9:2 NLT
² His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land. 

• Samuel thought that Eliab “looked” like the perfect candidate to be Israel’s next king. 

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.

We learn a little more about Eliab in 1 Samuel 17:28.

1 Samuel 17:28 NLT
²⁸ But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” 

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Psalm 139:1 NLT
¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.

The “heart” in Scripture refers to a person’s inward moral and spiritual life, including the emotions, will, and reason.

• People judge by outward appearance, but the Lordlooks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” ⁹ Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” ¹⁰ In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

Jesse’s sons names come from the books of 1 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.  Jesse is mentioned to have eight sons, but only seven are mentioned by name. 

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

The Lord’s chosen one is a shepherd.

Psalm 78:70-72 NLT
⁷⁰ He chose his servant David,
calling him from the sheep pens.
⁷¹ He took David from tending the ewes and lambs
and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—
God’s own people, Israel.
⁷² He cared for them with a true heart
and led them with skillful hands.

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” 

¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

• The Lord’s chosen one was a shepherd. 

¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil.

This is the first time in this narrative that David is mentioned by name.

David’s brothers witnessed this anointing.

The Elders of the town also witnessed this anointing.  (verse 5)

The small circle of witnesses to David’s anointing assured its confidentiality, but also provided ample testimony for the future that David had been anointed by Samuel. 

And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on.

• David was being equipped and empowered by God to fulfill a new role.

Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

Later David was anointed king over Judah and then over Israel.

2 Samuel 2:4 NLT
⁴ Then the men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over the people of Judah.

2 Samuel 5:3 NLT
³ So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.

 

 

The Lord Rejects Saul (Part 2)

Introduction:

Two passages: 1 Samuel 15:24-34 & 1 Samuel 16:14-23 NLT

Saul is experiencing a long and painful consequence for his sins. (15 + years)

Review:

1 Samuel 15:1-3 NLT
^15:1 One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! ² This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. ³ Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” 

Saul disobeyed this command.

1 Samuel 15:24-34 NLT
Saul Pleads for Forgiveness
²⁴ Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. ²⁵ But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
²⁶ But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. ²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. ²⁹ And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
³⁰ Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Samuel Executes King Agag
³² Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!” ³³ But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
³⁴ Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

1 Samuel 16:14-23 NLT
David Serves in Saul’s Court
¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.
¹⁵ Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. ¹⁶ Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”
¹⁷ “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”
¹⁸ One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”
¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.” ²⁰ Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.
²¹ So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.
²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”
²³ And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

Examine the Scriptures: 1 Samuel 15:24-34 & 1 Samuel 16:14-23 NLT

The Lord Rejects Saul (Part 2)
1 Samuel 15:24-34 NLT
Saul Pleads for Forgiveness

²⁴ Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 

• Saul finally confesses his sins, but his confession does not appear to be genuine.

It is too little, too late, and is accompanied with excuses.

“I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.”

Saul is putting the blame on “the people”.

• Saul’s confession appears to be generated more by a concern over consequences he would face than by a felt sorrow for offending a Holy God. 

²⁵ But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”

• Saul wanted to avoid a break with the prophet Samuel that could undermine his authority as king.

Saul recognized the importance of a good relationship between the king of the nation and the spiritual leader of the nation. 

²⁶ But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

In 1 Samuel 13:13 God rejected Saul’s dynasty.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT
¹³ “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Here Saul himself is rejected as king.

1 Samuel 15:23 (previous lesson)

1 Samuel 15:23 NLT
²³ Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

• Previously God had rejected Saul’s dynasty. Now God is rejecting Saul as king of Israel. 

²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. ²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 

Notice the symbolism:

“Torn the hem”   “torn the kingdom of Israel from you today.”

• Saul tearing Samuel robe symbolized God tearing the kingdom from Saul and his family.

Past tense.

The decision is made, and the decision has been finalized.  Saul has gone past the point of no return. The Lord took the Kingdom of Israel from Saul when Saul disobeyed God’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites.

The actual act was yet to come.

David’s name is not mentioned here. 

²⁹ And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”

• God’s plans haven’t changed. It was always God’s intention for David to become king and for Jesus to come from the line of David.

1 Samuel 16:1 NLT
^16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

The people will still recognize Saul as their King for about 15 more years.

• Saul’s consequences for his sins will take place over the next 15 years. 

³⁰ Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Saul was still thinking about himself.

• Saul is more concerned with his reputation among the people than the awfulness of his sin.

Saul wanted to save face.

It is not clear why Samuel goes back with Saul.

It could be out of concern for Saul or it could be out of concern for the nation of Israel.

Samuel does go back with Saul and carries out the divine sentence on King Agag and in doing so reemphasizes Saul’s neglect of duty.

Samuel Executes King Agag
³² Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!” ³³ But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

From that day Samuel never visited the King again.

This estrangement between Samuel and Saul symbolized the permanent break that now existed between the Lord and King Saul.

(Saul and Samuel are mentioned together in 1 Samuel 19:24)

1 Samuel 16:14-23 NLT
David Serves in Saul’s Court

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

The spirit of the Lord left Saul.

Saul knows that the kingdom of Israel has been (is being) taken from him.

1 Samuel 15:28
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 

Saul is experiencing a long and painful consequence for his sins.

Scripture clearly states that “the Lord sent a tormenting spirit”.

Evil spirits are subject to God’s control and only operate within divinely determined boundaries.

Saul is filled with depression, fear, tendencies to despondency, jealously, anger, delusion, and violence.

These feelings are caused by his knowledge of his rejection as king, David’s growing popularity, and the involvement of an evil spirit in these psychological aberrations.

• The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. 

¹⁵ Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. ¹⁶ Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”

• Certain types of music can have a soothing effect on a troubled spirit.

¹⁷ “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”

¹⁸ One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”

• God’s sovereignty was clearly at work in this narrative.

• God used the evil that had befallen Saul to introduce David into the court of the king and to the attention of the nation of Israel. 

¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.” 

• At this point in time Saul does not know that David will be the next king of Israel.

²⁰ Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.

²¹ So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.

David is first introduced as a musician. (Later as a warrior.)

David became a close personal attendant to King Saul. (The time sequence for this is unclear.)

• David is in a good position to learn the duties of a king.

At first Saul loved David very much, but this love soon turned to intense jealously and hatred. 

²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

1 Samuel 17:14-15 NLT
¹⁴ David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.

²³ And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

Certain types of music can have a soothing effect on a troubled spirit.

• Beyond this natural effect of music it would appear that in this instance the Spirit of the Lord was active in David’s music to temporally suppress the evil spirt that was tormenting Saul.

Something similar to this happened to Elisha.

2 Kings 3:15 NLT
¹⁵ Now bring me someone who can play the harp.”
While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha,

The Holy Spirit empowered David to drive away the evil spirit that overwhelmed Saul.

• Whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp, Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

 

The Lord Rejects Saul

1 Samuel 15:10-23 NLT
¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ¹¹ “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.
¹² Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
¹³ When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
¹⁴ “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.
¹⁵ “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What did he tell you?” Saul asked.
¹⁷ And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ ¹⁹ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.
²¹ Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
²² But Samuel replied,
“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
²³ Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

Examine the Scriptures

1 Samuel 15:10-23 NLT

The Lord Rejects Saul

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ¹¹ “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.”

Saul was not loyal to God.  He was not acting any differently than the kings of the surrounding nations.

Saul was refusing to obey the Lord’s commands.

1 Samuel 12:14-15 NLT
¹⁴ “Now if you (Israel) fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. ¹⁵ But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.

Saul clearly violated God’s commands given in 1 Samuel 12:14-15.

Sinful behavior grieves God’s heart.

Genesis 6:6 NLT
⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them (humans, before the flood) and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

Psalm 78:40 NLT
⁴⁰ Oh, how often they (Israelites) rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.

Ephesians 4:30 NLT
³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

• Saul was not loyal to God and he refused to obey God’s commands. (This is certainly a formula for failure.)

• God felt genuine sorrow when he contemplated Saul’s sin.

Saul’s behaviors do not change God’s plans.

Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT
⁹ Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish. 

Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.

• Samuel was grieved and upset with Saul. 

¹² Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”

7 miles south of Hebron.

• Saul was giving himself, not God, credit for the military victories over the surrounding nations.

Saul was filled with pride.

Saul’s behaviors were self-centered.

• Saul commemorated his own accomplishments by erecting a monument to himself. 

¹³ When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”

• Saul wanted Samuel to believe that he had done as God had commanded him to do.

Saul was either acting deceitfully or ignorantly.

Saul is less than honest in his statements to Samuel.

¹⁴ “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.

¹⁵ “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted.

• Saul blamed the army for disobeying the Lord’s command by sparing the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle.

Look closely at the facts recorded in the scriptures.

1 Samuel 15:9 NLT
⁹ Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. 

“But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God.

• Saul tried to justify his disobedience by claiming that the animals were brought as a sacrifice to the “Lord your God”.

Contrary to the order to destroy everything, Saul and his men would most likely end up eating a portion of the meat being sacrificed to the Lord.

Note: Samuel did not say “my God” or “our God”.

We have destroyed everything else.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”

“What did he tell you?” Saul asked.

¹⁷ And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 

1 Samuel 9:21 NLT
²¹ Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?”

• As the king of Israel and the leader of the army, Saul bore the responsibility for his actions and the actions of his army. 

¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 

• God put Saul in a leadership position to carry out His agenda.

¹⁹ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

• Saul and his soldiers willingly and greedily took the spoil.

²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 

• Instead of confessing his sin and repenting, Saul continued to justify his actions.

²¹ Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

Gilgal was a religious center. 

²² But Samuel replied,

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 

• Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

God values obedience more than ritual.

Even the best sacrifice without obedience gains nothing.

Hosea 6:6 NLT
⁶ I want you to show love,
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me
more than I want burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8 NLT
⁶ What can we bring to the Lord?
Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
with offerings of yearling calves?
⁷ Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?
⁸ No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

• The sacrificial system was intended to be an expression of an obedient and loving heart. 

²³ Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.

Rebellion and stubbornness are sins of the heart.

Saul’s behavior was an indication of the condition of his heart.

Luke 6:45 NLT
⁴⁵ A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

• Saul was behaving like a pagan king. 

So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

Saul continually rejected God.

Saul was guilty of:

Disobedience,

Rebellion.

Stubbornness, arrogance,

Rejecting God’s Word

Saul did not live up to God’s previously stated expectations of a king.

1 Samuel 12:13-15 NLT (repeated from earlier in this lesson)
¹³ All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
¹⁴ “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. ¹⁵ But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors. 

Previously when Saul, not Samuel, offered a sacrifice to the Lord.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT
¹³ “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Saul set his own will above the commands of the Lord and this behavior cost him dearly.

Although Saul would still be recognized by the people of Israel as their king for about fifteen more years, Saul was disposed by the Lord right then.

• God disposed Saul and his descendants from the throne of Israel.

1 Samuel 16:14 NLT
¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

 

 

 

 

Saul’s Military Successes
1 Samuel 14:47-15:9 NLT
⁴⁷ Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel’s throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction—against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious. ⁴⁸ He performed great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them.
⁴⁹ Saul’s sons included Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malkishua. He also had two daughters: Merab, who was older, and Michal. ⁵⁰ Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul’s army was Abner, the son of Saul’s uncle Ner. ⁵¹ Saul’s father, Kish, and Abner’s father, Ner, were both sons of Abiel.
⁵² The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army. 

Saul Defeats the Amalekites
15 One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! ² This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. ³ Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
⁴ So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left.
⁷ Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. ⁹ Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 14:47-15:9 NLT

Saul’s Military Successes 

⁴⁷ Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel’s throne,

took full control of Israel        ERV
had taken control of the kingdom over Israel,           NASB
established his reign over Israel.         NCB
had assumed rule over Israel,              NIV
established his sovereignty over Israel            NKJV

he fought against his enemies in every direction—against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines.

“every direction – all of the surrounding nations 

And wherever he turned, he was victorious.  

• At this point in time, Saul’s military campaigns against Israel’s enemies were, for the most part, successful. 

1 Samuel 14:47-52 is a summary of time extending “Throughout Saul’s lifetime.”

⁴⁸ He performed great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them.

• Saul’s success was tempered by his lack of complete obedience to God.

More about the Amalekites in chapter 15 

⁴⁹ Saul’s sons included Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malkishua. He also had two daughters: Merab, who was older, and Michal. 

Ishbosheth (Esh-Baal): “man of shame”, “man of Baal”

2 Samuel 2:8-11 NLT
Ishbosheth Proclaimed King of Israel
⁸ But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul’s son Ishbosheth. ⁹ There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel.
¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David. ¹¹ David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.

Saul’s son Abinadad, not listed here, is mentioned in 31:2

Jonathan and David became close friends. (Chapter 18)

Michal was David’s first wife. (Chapter 18)

⁵⁰ Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz.

Saul’s concubine Rizpah is mentioned in 2 Samuel 3:7 and in 2 Samuel 21.

2 Samuel 3:7 NLT
⁷ One day Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, a woman named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah.

2 Samuel chapter 21

The commander of Saul’s army was Abner, the son of Saul’s uncle Ner. ⁵¹ Saul’s father, Kish, and Abner’s father, Ner, were both sons (or in the case of Saul, grandson) of Abiel.

1 Chronicles 9:39 NLT
³⁹ Ner was the father of Kish.
Kish was the father of Saul.
Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malkishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

This information about Saul’s family, placed here rather than at the end of his reign, hints that his reign was essentially over and he would not be succeeded by one of his sons. (NLT Study Bible) 

⁵² The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime.

• The Philistines opposition to Israel was constant and lasted throughout the lifetime of Saul.

The Philistines were a well-organized military force and had a monopoly on iron and bronze which they used for military weapons, among other things. 

So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army.

1 Samuel 8:10-12 NLT
Samuel Warns against a Kingdom
¹⁰ So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. ¹² Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.

• Whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army.

David was one of these young men drafted by Saul.

David continued this practice when he became king.

Saul Defeats the Amalekites
^15:1 One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel.

Now listen to this message from the Lord! ² This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. 

Samuel was speaking for God.

God is using Saul to accomplish His intensions.

 

The Amalekites, a nomadic people of the desert, were descendants of Esau (Gen. 36:12).

Genesis 36:12 NLT
¹² Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. 

More about the Amalekites.

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 NLT
¹⁷ “Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. ¹⁸ They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. ¹⁹ Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!

Exodus 17:8-16 NLT
Israel Defeats the Amalekites
⁸ While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. ⁹ Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
¹⁰ So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. ¹² Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. ¹³ As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
¹⁴ After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). ¹⁶ He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.” 

³ Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”

The time had now come for Saul to totally destroy the Amalekites.

Saul was to destroy everything that breathed.

God’s judgment was severe toward those who wanted to destroy his people.

Genesis 12:3 NLT
³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

God’s judgment was also severe to those who disobeyed Him. (Achan- Joshua 7)) 

• Saul was instructed to “go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” 

⁴ So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul and his army went to a town (an unnamed town) of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley.  

⁶ Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left.

The Kenites had settled among the Amalekites.

The Amalekites were descendants of Esau (Gen. 36:12), but the Kenites traced their ancestry from Midian, one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). The Kenites had been friendly to Israel (Exod. 18:9, 10, 19; Num. 10:29-32), whereas the Amalekites had not. There appeared to be friendly relations between the Israelites and the Kenites.

Judges 1:16 NLT
¹⁶ When the tribe of Judah left Jericho—the city of palms—the Kenites, who were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law (Jethro), traveled with them into the wilderness of Judah. They settled among the people there, near the town of Arad in the Negev.

• The Kenites who had settled among the Amalekites were given the opportunity move away from the Amalekites. They wisely chose to move away from the Amalekites and their lives were spared. 

⁷ Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.

Saul partially obeyed Samuel’s instructions:  ³ Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” 

• Saul killed the Amalekite soldiers his army encountered, but he did not kill all of the Amalekite soldiers.

Not all of the Amalekite soldiers were killed.

King David had to deal with the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 27:8 NLT
⁸ David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times.

1 Samuel 30:1 NLT
^30:1 Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.

• Partial obedience is not obedience. 

 ⁸ He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. (see the next verse) 

⁹ Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.

Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them.

Saul had been told: “completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”

• Saul did not “completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”

This is clearly an act of selfish disobedience to the Lord’s command.

• Saul clearly, blatantly, and selfishly disobeyed the instructions God had, through Samuel, given to him. 

 

 

Saul’s Foolish Oath
1 Samuel 14:24-46 NLT
²⁴ Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day, ²⁵ even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. ²⁶ They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.
²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed. ²⁸ But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.”
²⁹ “My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. ³⁰ If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!”
³¹ They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint. ³² That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. ³³ Someone reported to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it.”
“That is very wrong,” Saul said. “Find a large stone and roll it over here. ³⁴ Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’”
So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. ³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first of the altars he built to the Lord.
³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and plunder them until sunrise. Let’s destroy every last one of them.”
His men replied, “We’ll do whatever you think is best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”
³⁷ So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.
³⁸ Then Saul said to the leaders, “Something’s wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today. ³⁹ I vow by the name of the Lord who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die, even if it is my own son Jonathan!” But no one would tell him what the trouble was.
⁴⁰ Then Saul said, “Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there.”
And the people responded to Saul, “Whatever you think is best.”
⁴¹ Then Saul prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.” Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.
⁴² Then Saul said, “Now cast lots again and choose between me and Jonathan.” And Jonathan was shown to be the guilty one.
⁴³ “Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan.
“I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”
⁴⁴ “Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”
⁴⁵ But the people broke in and said to Saul, “Jonathan has won this great victory for Israel. Should he die? Far from it! As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair on his head will be touched, for God helped him do a great deed today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
⁴⁶ Then Saul called back the army from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned home.

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 14:24-46 NLT

*** How can we apply the content in this lesson to our lives?

Saul’s Foolish Oath
²⁴ Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening

Not permitting a soldier to eat puts the soldier at a serious disadvantage.

In combat soldiers burns a massive number of calories.

Eating calms many people down and well-fed soldiers are more confident.

A good military commander always takes care that everyone eats something before combat. They might even order you to do so.

Saul’s inept leadership left his men weak and fatigued.

• Saul put his soldiers at a serious disadvantage fighting the Philistines (v. 23) when he said, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening …”

Saul was not thinking about the welfare of his soldiers.

—before I have full revenge on my enemies.”

Saul called the Philistines “his” enemies.  Saul perceives the conflict with the Philistines more a personal vendetta than a battle for the honor of the Lord and the security of the Lord’s people.

• Saul perceived the conflict with the Philistines as a personal vendetta, rather than a battle for the honor of the Lord and the security of the Israelites. 

Saul was thinking about himself.

So no one ate anything all day, ²⁵ even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. ²⁶ They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.

An oath was an extremely serious matter in the ancient Near East. One did not violate a king’s oath without suffering severe consequences.

• Saul’s soldiers honored the king’s commands. 

²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command,

Saul and Jonathan were not always camped in the same location.

Example:

1 Samuel 13:2 NLT
² Saul selected 3,000 special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of the men home. He took 2,000 of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Bethel. The other 1,000 went with Saul’s son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.

and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed. 

• Jonathan ate some honey.

Jonathan felt refreshed after eating some honey.

Eating healthy food provides the energy needed to stay active.

• Since Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, it seems reasonable for him not to be held accountable for not following his father’s instructions. 

²⁸ But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.” 

²⁹ “My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed.

This was a strong accusation from Jonathan.

This same verb was used in Joshua 7:25

Joshua 7:25 NLT
²⁵ Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies.

Jonathan is holding his father accountable for his actions.

 “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. ³⁰ If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!”

• Jonathan saw the foolishness of Saul’s command and recognized how it hurt Israel’s cause instead of helping it.

Saul’s foolish oath limited Israel’s victory. 

³¹ They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon,

The Philistines were heading out of the Promised Land on their way back to their homeland. (See verse 46.) Aijalon is near the Philistines own territory.

growing more and more faint.

The men were growing more and more faint as a result of not eating. 

 ³² That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. 

Saul had said, Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening.  It was now evening and the soldiers were permitted to eat.

In their haste to eat, they did not properly drain the blood from the animals.

Leviticus 17:13-14 NLT
¹³ “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth. ¹⁴ The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.

• After chasing and fighting the Philistines, Saul’s soldiers ate meat without draining the blood. Eating meat with blood is strictly prohibited for any native Israelite or foreigner living among the Israelites. 

³³ Someone reported to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it.”

• As a result of obeying Saul’s instructions (fasting all day), the soldiers disobeyed God’s instructions (eating meat without draining the blood..

“That is very wrong,” Saul said.

• Saul recognized the fact that the men were disobeying the law of God but did not seem to see that he was at least partially responsible for their disobedience.

However, this would have never happened had it not been for Saul’s foolish oath.

“Find a large stone and roll it over here. ³⁴ Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’”

So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. ³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first of the altars he built to the Lord.

The first and only alter built by Saul mentioned in scripture.

• Saul attempted to prevent more sin by his soldiers by properly draining the blood from the animals slaughtered for food. 

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and plunder them until sunrise. Let’s destroy every last one of them.”

At this point Saul decided to pursue the Philistines all night to kill and plunder them. 

His men replied, “We’ll do whatever you think is best.”

Again, Saul’s soldiers complied with his commands.

But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”

• Ahijah the priest tells Saul that he should seek God’s council before acting.

³⁷ So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.

• Saul follows Ahijah’s advice, but God does not reply to Saul’s question.

³⁸ Then Saul said to the leaders, “Something’s wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today. 

• Saul interprets God’s lack of response a result of someone’s sin. 

³⁹ I vow by the name of the Lord who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die,

even if it is my own son Jonathan!”

• Saul makes another foolish, irrational oath.

But no one would tell him what the trouble was. 

⁴⁰ Then Saul said, “Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there.”

And the people responded to Saul, “Whatever you think is best.”

“Whatever you think is best.” (Also in verse 36)

More compliance by the people. 

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.” Then they cast sacred lots,

The practice of casting lots is mentioned seventy times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament.

These lots may have been the Urim and Thummim ………

Exodus 28:30 NLT
³⁰ Insert the Urim and Thummim into the sacred chestpiece so they will be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects used to determine the Lord’s will for his people whenever he goes in before the Lord.

God allowed the Israelites to cast lots in order to determine His will for a given situation.

Biblical examples:

Distributing land to the tribes of Israel.

Joshua 18:10 NLT
¹⁰ And there at Shiloh, Joshua cast sacred lots in the presence of the Lord to determine which tribe should have each section.

Duties of the Priests

1 Chronicles 24:5 NLT
⁵ All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent. 

⁴² Then Saul said, “Now cast lots again and choose between me and Jonathan.” And Jonathan was shown to be the guilty one.

• Jonathan was guilty of violating, unintentionally, Saul’s oath. He was not guilty of violating a command from God.

It would be hard to say that Jonathan had violated: Children obey your parents.  He had not even known of Saul’s oath.

⁴³ “Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan.

“I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”

Again, Jonathan had more common sense than his father.

⁴⁴ “Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”

• Saul wanted to kill his own son for disobeying his (Saul’s not God’s) command.

Saul, full of pride and egotism, was intent on fulfilling his vow. 

⁴⁵ But the people broke in and said to Saul, “Jonathan has won this great victory for Israel. Should he die? Far from it! As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair on his head will be touched, for God helped him do a great deed today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

• The soldiers who had gone along with Saul’s requests thus far now refused to follow his orders when he called for Jonathan’s execution.

They recognized that Saul’s rule about abstaining from eating was not divine law. They correctly saw that even though Jonathan had violated Saul’s rule, he had obeyed God’s order to drive Israel’s enemies out of the land.

The “people” recognized the fact that God helped Jonathan do a great dead.

⁴⁶ Then Saul called back the army from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned home.

The Philistines continued their retreat to their homeland.