2024-03-24 - 1 Samuel 19:20-24 - Chapter 20:?

20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

Be Successful 4. Saul Himself Goes to Kill David. (1 Sam. 19:18–24)

The Hebrew word translated “prophesy” can mean “to sing songs and praise God” as well as “to foretell events.” Saul’s soldiers didn’t become prophets; they only uttered words inspired by the Spirit of God. God protected David and Samuel, not by sending an army but by sending the Holy Spirit to turn warriors into worshipers. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds”

21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.”

23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

There is a lot here in these last 5 verses.

When God’s men are doing what he instructs them to do, its not them, its God working.

Their obedience to God, protected David.

Even a powerful king couldn’t stop God.

This happens 3 times and on the fourth he comes himself.

Saul also prophecies.

Bible Knowledge says this about these last 7 verses:

The Bible Knowledge Commentary Chapter 19

Next Saul sent men to Naioth at Ramah where David had taken refuge with Samuel (vv. 18–24). (Ramah was Samuel’s hometown.) Their efforts were also unsuccessful for they, and later Saul, were overwhelmed by the Spirit of God who came on them and caused them to “act like prophets” (NIV, prophesied, vv. 20–21, 23–24). This means that they fell into a trance or an ecstatic state, a condition which immobilized them and made them incapable of accomplishing their evil intentions.

The Moody Bible Commentary d. The Lord Uses His Own Spirit to Protect David (19:18–24)

Saul then stripped off his royal clothes (v. 24). This bizarre incident, in which Saul lay incapacitated by the Holy Spirit for 24 hours, may have been to keep him from committing “some dreadful crime” against David (Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel, 133), or the result of God’s Spirit working in Saul to bring him to repentance (Laney, First and Second Samuel, 43–44), or both. Bergen says that Saul’s removal of his royal clothes in the presence of God’s Spirit was a powerful image of God’s rejection of him as king (Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, 211). The word naked (v. 24) does not necessarily mean that Saul removed all of his clothes, but just his outer garments (Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel, 499). God protected David by His Spirit coming on Saul’s men and on Saul himself, showing that the Lord uses different ways and means to protect His servants.

In closing to chapter 19

Be Successful 4. Saul Himself Goes to Kill David. (1 Sam. 19:18–24)

Special religious manifestations aren’t evidences that a person is even saved (Matt. 7:21–23). Judas preached sermons and even performed miracles (Matt. 10:1–8), yet he was not a believer (John 6:67–71; 13:10–11; 17:12), and he betrayed the Lord and ended up committing suicide. Saul, like Judas, had many opportunities to see the Lord’s hand at work, and yet he never had a life-changing experience with the Lord.

--------------------------------NEW CHAPTER--------------------------------------

1 Samuel 20 (NKJV)

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity (aw-von: sin as we know it), and what is my sin (khat-tawth: habittual sin) before your father, that he seeks my life?”

2 So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

3 Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

David fled from Samuel's place and went to Jonathan.

Jonathan says, my dad won’t kill you, he made that oath, BUT...

It appears here that Saul did not share with Jonathan b/c of vs. 3

----------Pause----------

4 So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.”

5 And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening.

6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

The new moon is the first day of the month on the Jewish Calendar. They have a lunar calendar which is different then our calendar based on the sun.

The Moody Bible Commentary a. One Step between Life and Death (20:1–11)

When the new moon appeared, people celebrated the beginning of a new month by worshiping the Lord.

Be Successful 1. Jonathan—A Faithful Friend (1 Sam. 20:1–23)

It was customary for each Jewish family to hold a feast at the new moon (Num. 10:10; 28:11–15; Ps. 81:3), and Saul would expect David to attend. If Saul’s son-in-law and leading military hero didn’t attend the feast, it would be an insult to the king as well as the family, so David’s absence would help reveal Saul’s genuine attitude toward David. If Saul became angry, then David’s assessment was correct, but if Saul excused David and didn’t press the matter, then Jonathan was correct.

Numbers 28:11–15 “At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish; 12 three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 14 Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year. 15 Also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the Lord shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.”

Once a year apparently Davids family would have a special sacrifice, why?

Perhaps, it was like a family reunion as they would do one of the monthly sacrifices.

Or some kind of offering the family clan had determined to offer.

7 If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him.

David comes up with a test to see that King Saul is indeed wanting to kill him. This will confirm things with Jonathan too.

8 Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

David reminded Jonathan of the covenant from 18:1-4 they had made together.

David said kill me if I am sinning, kill me if I do deserve it. (HE HADN’T Sinned) But this showed the depth of his integrity here.

----------Pause----------

9 But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”

10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”

11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field.

They went to the field to further discuss and talk. This way none of Saul's spies would hear what was conversed next.

Next we see in verses 12-17 that Jonathan is going to review the covenant from 18:1-4 that David had just reminded him of.

----------Pause----------

12 Then Jonathan said to David: “The Lord God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

13 may the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.

14 And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die;

Jonathan acknowledged that David would one day be king. And he asked for protection from Him when that day came.

15 but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

After Jonathan reviewed the covenant and vowed himself again VS. 16, He asked David to vow again as well to uphold their covenant.

Jonathan says, even if I do die and I can’t serve along side of you when you are king, promise that you won’t kill my descendants and that you will take care of them.

We see later on that David does do this with Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9.

----------Pause----------

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

19 And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.

20 Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target;

21 and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm.

22 But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the Lord has sent you away.

23 And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.”

24 Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.

----------Pause----------

25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.”

27 And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”

28 So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem.

29 And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?”

33 Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

35 And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him.

36 Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”

38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master.

39 But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter.

40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.

42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.