Year One, August 23

The LORD Preserves the Simple1

Saul’s fierce hostility was a painful trial for David. But the Lord comforted David even within the king’s family, because both his eldest son Jonathan and his daughter Michal—whom Saul had given to David for a wife—loved David.

  

1 Samuel 18:3-4

3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.

Jonathan loved him even though he knew David was going to be king and that he himself would never wear the crown. How beautiful to see pure love; love that does not have personal gain as a motive. Our love for Jesus should be the same. A love for our Lord because of who he is, not for what we hope to get from the relationship.

4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. (We should delight to give all we have for Jesus. Let him have everything, because he deserves everything.)

  

1 Samuel 19:1; 4-18

1And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David.

Saul was now worse than ever, or else he would not have asked others to help him in a wicked and cruel murder. When God leaves a person, the devil comes to them.

4And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” (Here Jonathan proved himself a real friend. We should always be ready to speak up for those who are falsely accused.)

6And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” (His oath, however, only lasted a short time. Saul was never in a good state of mind for very long. Envy cannot hold still.) 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

8And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

“Not a single [arrow] can hit,

Till the God of love thinks fits.”2

We are safe anywhere while the Lord has work for us to do. If our role in life is to have a harp in our hand, praising God and blessing others, then we will be kept safe from the javelins of our enemies.

11Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. (We cannot admire Michal’s deceit or her having idols in her house. She was Saul’s daughter and was not raised properly. God will use even Michal’s misguided love to arrange for David’s escape. He will keep his own safe.)

17Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”

18Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.

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¹ Psalm 116:6

² This appears to be from a hymn found in a compilation of hymns published by S. B. Haslam in 1824.