1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18:1

JONATHAN AND DAVID MAKE A COVENANTDavid was speaking to Saul. Saul had called David after the battle because he wanted to give him recognition for his deed. (I think Saul felt that he gave him too much recognition in light of what happened later.) As Jonathan, Saul’s son, stood there listening as David and his father talked, “the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.” The relationship of these two men was quite wonderful. We often speak about the love of a man for a womanand that is wonderfulbut nothing is as fine and noble as the love of two men for each other. They see in each other a mirror of themselves and are drawn together. Two men can be real friends. They can enjoy athletics and recreation together.

They can work together and have a social life together. Jonathan was an outstanding man, as we have seen, and he loved David for his courage and his confidence in God.

1 Samuel 18:2

David now becomes a public figure, and he will occupy that position for the rest of his life.

1 Samuel 18:3

The covenant that these two men made was that they would stick together. It is difficult to find another friendship equal to what these men had. There is nothing quite like it.

1 Samuel 18:4

David was a peasant boy, and he did not have the clothes befitting his new public life. Jonathan shared his wardrobe with David. It was a very generous thing to do.

1 Samuel 18:5

David had that charisma that we hear so much about, which made him accepted by the public. David was actually a great man. God looked on his heart, the people are looking at the outside, and David looked good both on the inside and on the outside. Of course David was not sinless, as we shall see, but he had a real heart for God, and people loved him for it.

1 Samuel 18:6

Saul did not like the new song that the women were singing. Saul became jealous of David because of the people’s applause and acceptance of him. As the story progresses, Saul will attempt to remove him from the limelight by actually destroying him. As David becomes the favorite of the people, he begins to see that Saul is not as friendly as he once was.

1 Samuel 18:10

This is quite a dramatic scene. As David is playing on a harp, and Saul is sitting over there playing with a javelin, David may have guessed what he had in mind. He may have hit a sour note or two, I don’t know, but suddenly Saul threw the javelin.

1 Samuel 18:11

Saul wanted to get rid of David permanently. David dodged the javelin and then departed. He took French leavegot out of the palace and the area as quickly as he could.

1 Samuel 18:20

DAVID MARRIES MICHAL, SAUL’S DAUGHTERDavid is now the one who is being accepted by the nation. Saul has been wondering how he can trap him and finally decides upon a clever method. He promises David his daughter Merab for his wife on the condition that he continue to war with the Philistines, hoping he will be killed in battle. Then he fails to keep faith with David and gives Merab to another. Now we will see that he wants to give his younger daughter to David. Why? That would put David in the family where Saul could get to him any time he wanted to. I do not believe David ever loved Michal. We blame David for having several marriages, but he certainly got off to a bad start with this girl. It says here that Michal loved David, but it was not that marital love that is needed to make a success of marriage. In the beginning it was that love of the hero and his popularity. The day will come when she will ridicule him and despise him for his enthusiasm for God.