Saturday, April 30, 2022

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 53, Saul Tries To Kill David

Earlier in Chapter 18 we found the young women of Israel singing songs about the bravery of David. They credited him with more battle kills than Saul, which offended and angered Saul and caused him to fall into another of his unstable moods.

In the throes of one of these moods, his paranoia reaches fever pitch and he makes two attempts on David's life, thinking David intends to take the kingship from him. As we read this next passage we need to keep in mind that it is impossible for the Lord to do evil or to tempt anyone with evil. Saul has repeatedly rejected the Lord's influence over his life and this has caused his tendency to be suspicious and violent to come to the forefront. The Lord allows Saul to fall into madness but the Lord doesn't cause Saul to be a wicked man. Saul's natural inclination is to be a wicked man who wants the Lord to maintain a "hands off" attitude toward him. Now that the Lord (like the gentleman He is) has respected Saul's wishes, there is nothing to keep his wickedness and insanity at bay. "The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, 'I'll pin David to the wall.' But David eluded him twice." (1 Samuel 18:10-11)

The word translated as "prophesying" can refer to one who is providing either a true or a false message. When it is used in relation to prophets called by the Lord, it is understood that they are speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In Saul's case there is no reason to assume he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit; we have been told before and will be told again that the Spirit is no longer with Saul. Many Bible scholars are of the opinion that Saul is raving like a madman when the author of 1 Samuel tells us he is "prophesying". Have you ever been around someone who has lost their grip on reality? I've had to deal a number of times with a close relative who would fall into manic states and this person would talk at lightning fast speed, moving quickly from subject to subject, and most of what they were saying was illogical to those around them. In that person's mind, everything they were saying made sense. They completely believed what they were saying was true but everyone around them could clearly see that the person was living in their own reality at the moment. I think something similar happens to Saul when he lapses into his unstable moods. It's during these times that David is called for to play the lyre in hopes of soothing the king.

If Saul had not been in one of his angry, illogical, paranoid moods then I think David wouldn't be on the scene. He'd be overseeing his army duties instead of playing songs for the king. I think this helps to explain why David remains in Saul's employ even after he throws a spear at him twice in today's passage. David knows Saul isn't in control of his emotions. David can try to convince himself that Saul didn't really intend to kill him, saying to himself, "He doesn't know what he's doing! The poor man is losing his mind. He's seeing and hearing things that aren't there. He's imagining conspiracies where there aren't any. In his manic state he mistook me for his enemy instead of his loyal subject." 

Up until now Saul has wanted to keep David close to him, in spite of having unwarranted suspicions about him. But now he wants to put some distance between himself and the man upon whom he can clearly see the favor of God. "Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns." (1 Samuel 18:12-16)

Saul knows the Lord intends to remove him from the throne of Israel---Samuel the prophet told him so. He knows he has not lived in a way that has pleased the Lord. This could have been a turning point for him. He could have taken this opportunity to repent and establish a personal relationship with the Lord. Instead he removes from his presence the person who has the most godly influence on him. The main reason he sends David away with the army is because he hopes an enemy arrow will strike him dead. But even if that doesn't happen, at least Saul won't be daily reminded of how close David is living to the Lord and how far he himself is living from the Lord. When a person does not want to make God the Lord of his life, he can find it very uncomfortable to be around someone who loves the Lord and who considers it a joy to serve Him. 

Saul's two attempts to kill David with a spear have failed. He pretends to be over his fit of madness and behaves as if he is going to keep his promise to give David his eldest daughter in marriage. At the moment, because he can see the Lord's hand of protection is upon David, he is afraid to make another attempt on his life. Later on he will become so obsessed with David and so overwhelmed by paranoia that he will no longer fear the Lord taking vengeance on him for harming David, but right now he's pinning his hopes on the Philistine army. If David is killed in battle, Saul's problem will be solved for him. "Saul said to David, 'Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.' For Saul said to himself, 'I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!'" (1 Samuel 18:17)

Saul tries to make David feel at ease with him again, to smooth things over so David won't suspect he really wants him dead. He says something like, "I'm sorry for the way I behaved before. I wasn't myself. I was out of my head. I would never wish you harm. You know how highly I regard you! You know how much I need you helping to lead the army! Let's let bygones be bygones. I respect you so much and like you so much that I still want you to be my son-in-law. You may have the hand of my daughter Merab in marriage, just as I promised. I haven't changed my mind about that. You'll become part of the royal family of Israel. You'll have great wealth and fame. Please don't stop helping me defend our nation against the Philistines!"

Tomorrow we'll see what a humble spirit David has. He doesn't feel he is worthy to become son-in-law to the king. He isn't seeking honor for himself. He's seeking honor for the Lord and for Israel. In contrast to David, Saul is a man who looks out only for himself.

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