1 Samuel 19
OGCA DIGEST OF CHAPTER 19
Jonathan intercedes for David. Jonathan spoke kindly to Saul on David’s behalf. He brought the two together again.
David driven out a second time. Now Jonathan’s good offices were to no avail. Once again Saul tried to kill David. When David escaped from his flying javelin, Saul sent messages to David’s home; and Michal, David’s wife and Saul’s daughter, helped him to escape.
David with Samuel. The old prophet Samuel was David’s good friend. Samuel and Saul had parted company long ago. Samuel had gone to anoint David to be king. David knew that he would find a friend in Samuel. He went to him in Ramah.
LESSONS FOR LEARNING
Some men are determined to do evil. Some situations are of such an evil nature that no amount of good seems able to prevail. Some men are so filled with evil thoughts that they will not be persuaded by any good reasoning. Such seems to be the case with Saul. Christians will do well to realize this truth and cease to cast their pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).
A man’s enemies may be those of his own house (Matthew 10:36). Even though David was Saul’s son-in-law, Saul was determined to kill him. Michal, David’s wife, seems to have lied about David’s threatening her. David must have wondered if there were any good person to help him since they of this own family were against him.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. Samuel had brought the call of God to David when he anointed him in Bethlehem. Now the side of events was going against David. David must have sorely needed the asylum afforded him by the man of God in Ramah.
CHAPTER 19 IN REVIEW
Who interceded with Saul on David’s behalf?
What did Saul hurl at David?
What did Michal put in David’s bed?
Of what was the pillow made?
Did David threaten to kill Michal?
To whom did David flee?
In what city did David find refuge?
What group of men were prophesying when Saul’s messengers met them?
Where did Saul go in search of David?
Quote the proverb which arose from Saul’s prophesying.
1 Samuel 19:1-7
David’s Final Flight from Saul’s Court, 1 Samuel 19:1-24.
Jonathan Intercedes for David. 1 Samuel 19:1-7
And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 2 But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:
3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 And Jonathan called David and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
*1.
Who were Saul’s servants? 1 Samuel 19:1*
Saul’s servants would be his courtiers. They were his other armor-bearers, his captains of the army, and all those who had an office in his kingdom. Saul extended his personal scheme to include all those over whom he had any control. He embraced Jonathan, his son, in the order. All were expected to do whatever they could to catch David and kill him. Such a widespread plot made it necessary for David to be always on the defensive. Had it not been for Jonathan, Saul’s plot may have been successful; but Jonathan told David of this extensive attempt on the part of Saul to kill him.
*2.
What was Jonathan’s scheme? 1 Samuel 19:3*
Jonathan intended to make an opportunity to speak personally to his father about David. He found this opportunity as the two were in a field near the place where David was fighting. Jonathan spoke only good of David. His reasoning was good, and he reminded Saul of the good things David had done for him. Jonathan pointed out that David had not sinned against Saul. His activity had brought honor and glory to Saul and his kingdom. Jonathan reminded his father that David took his own life in his hands as he went out against Goliath. Jonathan believed that the Lord had worked in these instances and had brought about a great salvation for all Israel. Jonathan reminded Saul that he had seen this himself and rejoiced over it. Jonathan could see no reason for Saul’s seeking to slay David. To Jonathan the killing of David would be the shedding of innocent blood.
*3.
Why did Saul yield to Jonathan’s appeal? 1 Samuel 19:6*
When Saul was in full possession of his faculties, he must have known that he was wrong in trying to bring harm to David. Much of his fear of David must have come when he was in possession of the evil spirit. If Jonathan caught him at a time when he was rational, he could make his father understand what was right. Such must have been the case for Saul listened to Jonathan.
1 Samuel 19:8-17
David Driven Out a Second Time. 1 Samuel 19:8-17
8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. 9 And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wail: and David fled, and escaped that night. 11 Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain. 12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats-’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats-’ hair for his bolster.
17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
*4.
Why did Saul have his spear in his hand? 1 Samuel 19:9*
Saul probably had the spear as a sceptre. He must have held it in his hand as he presided over his court. This would be in keeping with ancient oriental custom. It is also possible that Saul kept his spear always at hand in order that he might seize upon an opportunity to kill David. The spear that he held was evidently in the form of a javelin which he could throw. On the occasion described in this chapter he threw the javelin, but missed David. The javelin then stuck in the wall as David escaped out of Saul’s presence. This is the second incident mentioned in which David escaped from a direct attack on the part of Saul. Since the other occasion mentioned David’s escaping twice, this would make at least three times that David escaped out of Saul’s presence (1 Samuel 18:10).
*5.
Why did Michal have teraphim? 1 Samuel 19:13*
Teraphim were little household images. The fact that Michal had these in her house reveals that she was not purely a worshipper of the Lord. Teraphim were found in the house of Laban, and Rachel stole them when she left her father’s house (Genesis 31:19). These images were not large, for Rachel was able to hide her father’s teraphim in the camel’s baggage and sit on them. If Michal had larger images so that only one of the teraphim was put in the bed to look like a human form, they must have been larger than those stolen by Rachel, since it would be hard for Rachel to hide an image of this size. The pillow of goat’s hair would resemble human hair quite naturally. It was goat’s hair which Jacob put on his hands to feel like the human hair on Esau’s hands (Genesis 27:16). Ancient dramatists in Greece and Rome used kid skin for the making of puppets to resemble humans, and they used kid skin with the hair to make wigs and toupees. Kid skin very nearly resembles human skin in its softness and pliability.
*6.
Was Michal’s answer true? 1 Samuel 19:17*
Nothing is said about David’s threatening Michal. David may have asked her to let him go and to give him time to escape so that he might protect her. Saul may have been so senseless in his attack on David that he would have killed his own daughter along with David. The inference of her statement is that she could not prevent David’s escape. She gives the impression that David forced her to make up the bed so that it appeared that he was in it, even threatening her life if she failed to cooperate with him. If this be the case, there is no reference to it in the narrative. More than likely it is a piece of deceit on the part of Michal, and she is not justified in lying thus about the matter.
1 Samuel 19:18-24
David With Samuel. 1 Samuel 19:18-24
18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
*7.
What was Naioth of Ramah? 1 Samuel 19:19*
Naioth was the communal dwelling place of the company of the prophets found in Ramah. It can hardly be taken as a town for there is no reference of Samuel’s moving his residence to a smaller village which would be under the jurisdiction of Ramah. The Naioth would likely be located at the highest point in Ramah. This would make the ideal dwelling place of the prophet.
*8.
What was Samuel’s position with the prophets? 1 Samuel 19:20*
Samuel was called the head of the prophets. He had jurisdiction over them and occupied the same place that Elijah evidently occupied at a later time. When Elijah was about to be taken into heaven, Elisha asked to be given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha was evidently asking to be recognized as Elijah’s successor as head of the prophets (2 Kings 2:9).
*9.
What caused the prophesying? 1 Samuel 19:20 b*
The Spirit of God came upon the men. The prophets could not work up an ecstatic frame of mind. They were not whirling dervishes and even the use of the musical instruments does not account for the spirit of prophecy coming upon these men. It has well been said that no prophecy is of any private interpretation. Men of God did not speak as it pleased them, for no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spake from God being moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
*10.
Who were the company of the prophets? 1 Samuel 19:20*
The company of the prophets are sometimes known as the band of the prophets. On other occasions they are known as the school of the prophets. Another designation is sons of the prophets. These were young men that are met in the Scripture all the way from the time of Samuel down to the time of Amos who said that he was not a son of a prophet (Amos 7:14). These men were allowed to marry, but they lived in a common dwelling place. They had an older prophet as their leader. On occasions they were sent on such important missions as anointing kings, even in a country like Syria. They were sent on special missions such as that fulfilled by the unnamed prophet who announced judgment on Jeroboam’s idolatry (1 Kings 13:1).
*11.
In what sense was Saul naked? 1 Samuel 19:24*
Saul did not have on his usual regal costume. He was probably clad only in his undergarments. This truth is brought out in such instances as the occasion on which David danced before the Ark. On that occasion, he wore a linen ephod (2 Samuel 6:14). When David got to his house, Michal upbraided him because she thought he had shamelessly uncovered himself (2 Samuel 6:20). Evidently Michal was incensed that her husband, the king, would dance before the Ark in such an abbreviated costume as a priest’s ephod. She must have thought that it was beneath his dignity to be among the common people and not to have on his robe and crown. On another occasion we learn that Peter put on his coat and jumped into the sea because he was naked (John 21:7). The American Standard Version contains a footnote indicating that Peter had on his undergarment only. This must have been the case with Saul’s lying on the ground all night and prophesying.
*12.
Why is the proverb given twice? 1 Samuel 19:24*
When Saul first met a band of prophets after leaving Samuel, he fell in with them and began to prophesy (1 Samuel 10:12). People learned of this, and they started the proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? On this occasion at Naioth Saul once again fell among the prophets and prophesied. The occasion received a new exemplification. It also received a new basis and was therefore the cause of the proverb being revived and emphasized.