1st Samuel CH 18

Recap Ch 17

Big Dave Blessed us the last two weeks in chapter 17 and this chapter is where things really started to get Good in the book of First Samuel

In Ch 16 we really started to see the downfall of Saul take place actually back in ch 13

And then we read that David A Shepard boy had been anointed to be the Next King

CH 16 Had some really awesome application along with chapter 17

God chose David because of His heart

And then we know that Saul because of the wickedness in His heart was at His downfall ; he was being replaced by this young Man David

the contrast between the two is very evident

1 Samuel 13:14 “14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Saul was running around worried about his appearance trying to be spiritual when it was convenient all while being self absorbed and prideful Because of His position

He was being dethroned because He lost sight of God

Again Davids heart was in Line with Gods heart thats why he was chosen to be king

It wasn’t because of His earthly , fleshly appearance

it wasn’t because he was good looking

it was Simply because of His Heart

1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

The lord does not look at our appearance

the appearance is easy to fake ; that is why He looks at our hearts

Davids heart was pure and tender towards the Lord

God had plans for David

And now we start to see these plans take place in ch 17 when David goes and faces Goliath the Philistine

If you guys can remember in chapter 17 How relentless the enemy was towards the Israelites

it said That Goliath the Philistine “presented Himself for 40 Days , morning and evening”

No one in the Army of the Israelites had the courage or the faith to face Goliath

but then, David comes along

1 Samuel 17:26 “26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?””

David placed His faith in God so much that it gave Him the confidence to know He could defeat Goliath

David was a Boy

not even a grown Man

yet His faith was beyond his Years

God was going to accomplish His plan through David ; it didn’t matter what stood in the way

- So David goes on and smokes Him in the Head , knocks Him out and then takes His sword and cuts His head off

This Lead to a great victory over these Philistines

Now of course people talked and word traveled so people found out about the victory that God allowed through David and thats where were going to start off In Ch 18

The title of this Chapter starts off As “Saul resents David”

So if you have your bibles lets begin

Of course Saul is going to resent David

Saul’s heart hasn’t been in the right place for quite some time at this point

and now you have this young boy outshining the King so were gonna see where the resentment comes from

1 Samuel 18:1 “1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

David Just cooked Goliath; and now He’s done talking to Saul about it and now Johnathan

the whole time Johnathan is listening to David talk to His dad and Johnathan hearing this conversation realizes David is Just like Him

Just Like any good friend , you bond over things you typically have in common

in this case Johnathan and David were both Godly men

they were both warriors being the Men Saul should have been

of course they were going to get along and become friends

there Bond was one rooted in the Lord and was unbreakable

when people have a heart for God, they will develop a heart for others and thats what we see take place here between David and Johnathan

hearts for each-other

1 Samuel 18:2 “2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore.”

David was no longer to be a Shepard at home but a servant to Saul

1 Samuel 18:3 “3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.”

1 Samuel 18:4 “4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.”

1 Samuel 18:5 “5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.”

Again David and Johnathan’s relationship was rooted in the Lord

they both Had a real relationship with the God

it was rooted in victories over the enemy

it was rooted in things that were foundational not superficial

both were close to King Saul , Johnathan should have been next in Line to be King

but again Johnathan was a man of God , He recognized that David was the guy , and he knew God was working in Davids life preparing Him to take over the Kingdom

He wasn’t getting in the way of that , He was complimenting it

Johnathan was submitting His rightful Heir to the throne to David

even though it would be some time before David actually took over something Like 20 years later

but again Johnathan wasn’t just submitting to David , He was submitting to God and His plan

How refreshing is it when people around you are fully submitted to the Lord

Literally nothing can get in the way

Now I Just want to point out here in vs 5 that David was being obedient

regardless of what he knew Saul was still technically the King and David was being a good servant submitting to that Authority

David became accepted among all the people including Saul’s servants because he was acting wise

His wisdom came from a submitted Heart to the Lord

and because of the wisdom David had he was promoted to overseeing all the men of war, at a young age

1 Samuel 18:6 “6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.”

1 Samuel 18:7 “7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.””

1 Samuel 18:8 “8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?”

1 Samuel 18:9 “9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.”

So now the men are Home from their time away at war

David just slaughtered Goliath and now word has gotten back to the people

originally this was meant to be a greeting for Saul;

remember Saul has become wicked in His heart

He has become consumed with pride and His appearance

So of course what happens ; all the women were singing and building David up to be Higher than Saul by saying “Saul has slain his thousands” and “David his Ten thousands”.

Of course Saul is going to be furious

Vs 8 Saul reveals his true colors

He’s totally Jealous that the people recognize David as more of a Man than He is

Now all the people around Saul see David as this amazing guy

So Saul being Saul develops a hardened heart toward David

Saul Eyed David from that Day forward

David un intentionally made an Enemy

1 Samuel 18:10 “10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand.”

if you guys remember back in 1 Samuel 16:14 “14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.”

this is where the distressing spirit first came over Saul

David was for what ever reason the one chosen to play the Harp for Saul when ever this distressing spirit came over him

it would sooth Saul during His suffering

but here again in ch 18 this distressing spirit came over Saul ; it Says Paul prophesied inside the house

he didn’t actually prophecy anything , he was rambling and saying things that were probably weird

He didn’t have the ability to prophecy while he was under a distressing spirit

it was just translated that way so when you read it its not talking about Him actually being Prophetic

Anyways David again plays music to sooth Saul but this time its different

1 Samuel 18:11 “11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.”

Saul attempted to Kill David twice now with His spear

He’s completely Lost his mind now

we can see from ch 16 that the music that was played actually helped sooth Saul

but this is how far gone he has gotten , that even the music intended to be a form of worship in a distressing time has stopped ministering to Saul

His heart and mind are completely gone at this point

Why did God send a distressing spirit over Saul back in ch 16 and now again in Ch 18 ?

because Saul had been disobedient so God removed His spirit from Him and allowed the enemy to take over

Saul on multiple occasions had the ability to do the right thing and he chose not to

So God gave him over to his wicked heart

Some might say well you know why would God allow that ?

Because He can , He is the one supreme God and he uses everything for His glory, even this

even a distressing spirit

God can use things in our life to grab our attention

1 Samuel 18:12 “12 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul.”

1 Samuel 18:13 “13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.”

David being a light to Saul ; clearly he has God on His side ,

Saul could see this and it made Him Jealous and filled Him with fear

perhaps maybe he could foresee that he would no longer be the King

So out of His pride , His rage , and His jealousy He sends David away

He made David the captain over a group of a thousand men

A thousand Men of War , David was sent out into the battlefield possibly in hopes that He would die

1 Samuel 18:14 “14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.”

David had every reason to act out and to honestly react to the things that Saul was doing, but he didn’t

David kept his cool, Why?

Because He knew the plans God had for him

He knew that he was chosen to be the next king

He was patiently waiting for Gods timing in all of this

His wisdom came from his foundation that was in the Lord

It could have been easy for David to act out and say the things he had a right to say ;

He could have maybe even fought against Saul

But David knew these battles were not His to fight

He knew that God was the one in control of everything

so he patiently waited and he patiently Submitted to the Authority that was still over Him

1 Samuel 18:15 “15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.”

even though Saul was so far gone he still had some ability to see what was going on

He was watching his kingdom fall apart before his eyes

He saw that David was a man anointed by the Lord and there was nothing he could do about it

Saul became afraid not because of David Himself but because he knew in his heart that God was with David

Saul had some time were he too experienced the Lord on his side and he experienced the power of God

Now he sees that it has left him and gone to this boy that was becoming a threat to Him

1 Samuel 18:16 “16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.”

So David a few verses ago became the Leader or commander over a thousand men

fighting men specifically

and when it says “he went out and came in before them” it literally means he went to war and came back who knows how many times but he was fulfilling His duty to Saul and to the Lord

And because of the man David had become All of Israel and Judah developed a love for Him

1 Samuel 18:17 “17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.””

So again were going to keep seeing this in the rest of this chapter

Saul is now trying to get his oldest Daughter Merab to Marry David as kind of a crutch to get David to fight more for Him

Saul in chapter 17 vs 25 did promise His oldest daughter to who ever killed Goliath but because David was the one to do it , the motive for David to marry Merab has a deeper meaning to it with evil intentions

the dowry or price that was to be paid for Marrying Saul’s daughter was to Send David to war even more

Saul simply wants David on the battlefield as much as he can because he knows that the more he fights the more His chances of dying increase

He’s become very deranged and wicked

1 Samuel 18:18 “18 So David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?””

David was a young Shepard and in His mind he was not worthy enough to marry a kings daughter

1 Samuel 18:19 “19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.”

So Davids reluctancy lead to Saul giving his daughter away to someone else

1 Samuel 18:20 “20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.”

1 Samuel 18:21 “21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.””

Saul sees yet another opportunity to marry another daughter to carry out the same plan

1 Samuel 18:22 “22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

1 Samuel 18:23 “23 So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?””

1 Samuel 18:24 “24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.””

1 Samuel 18:25 “25 Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.”

Saul’s Plan seems to be working now

he has His servants encourage David to take Michal to be his wife

Saul also knows that David is far too humble to want to accept her as his wife for nothing

so instead of taking a legit dowry He makes a proposal for David to Kill and take the foreskins of 100 Philistine men

why ? because same reason as before , he wants to put David in a position to have Him killed

he has somewhat of an upper hand over David

David was going to pay a price for his wife wether it was a dowry or by earning it with blood

David being the Humble man he is agrees to the terms

1 Samuel 18:26 “26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired;”

1 Samuel 18:27 “27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.”

So now David carries out the difficult task

going and killing these 100 men of Sauls enemies

and he brings Saul the foreskins

1 Samuel 18:28 “28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him;”

1 Samuel 18:29 “29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually.”

1 Samuel 18:30 “30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.”

So again David proves that the Lord is with Him and at this point Saul is starting to realize that he cant do much to stop what God has ordained

So this brings Me to 2 Points Id like to make out of the Chapter:

1) Godly Friendships

God Blesses Godly friendships ; Beyond what we can fully understand

We see that in the 1st 5 verses of this chapter with Johnathan and David

they Loved each- other because their friendship was grounded in the same thing and thats God

So lets look at what Gods word says about Godly friendships

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

this world is a breeding ground for friendships that aren’t biblical

friendships that are rooted in superficial worldly things , not Godly things

We often times need to ask ourselves what kind of friendships do we have ?

what Kind of people do I call my friends

I remember when i started walking with the Lord I had to make some very hard decisions based on who I wanted in my life and who i would call my friend , i Just remember getting to a place where i had to trust that God would bless me with good friendships that were Godly, and he did

we have to be honest with ourselves about our friends

So here are some character traits to Look for in friends

Encouraging

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

The NLT version says . 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

good friends will be encouraging

encouraging doesn’t mean beating around the bush but it means to lift each-other up

pointing each other to the Lord and encouraging them in the Lord

How annoying is it when something good happens in your life and people aren’t encouraging but are Jealous ? Or upset , thats awkward

Again good friends are encouraging and uplifting

Johnathan as we go through these chapters is very encouraging towards his friend David and it was because he knew what God was doing in His life

Honest

Godly friendships will speak truth into your life

they wont lie to you about dumb stuff

they want whats best for you and honesty is the best thing a good friend can offer someone

Loving

Godly friendships are loving friendships

Galatians 5:22 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

You can speak truth in someones life but how effective is it if its not done in a gentle manner or a loving spirit ?

Its not always what we say but its how we say it

Again you can speak truth but that truth only goes so far if you haven’t earned the respect to be heard !

Forgiving

Good friends that have a good relationship with the Lord are going to be forgiving

this is a huge one

this one in my opinion will really show you if you have a true friend

we are all human

we are all imperfect

we all do things that aren’t exactly right all the time

we cant be perfect

but to be forgiving is to not be critical

people who don’t forgive and hold grudges forget what Jesus did on the cross

If Jesus forgave so should we

Matthew 6:14 “14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

forgiveness is the ultimate display of love along with death

Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins !

You can forgive becky for keeping your shirt for too long

you can forgive someone for saying something stupid

you can forgive someone for cancelling their plans on you

forgiveness is not always easy but it is very necessary to having a good friendship with someone

Expound ( people bounce around with new friend groups all the time ) maybe because they are critical ?

David and Johnathan had a bond that was special Not Homosexual okay; and its because they understood their purpose and that was to follow God

they both Saw that in each other and it gave them a love for one another that was different than a normal friendship

It was God !!

The second Point id like to Make or talk about is Jealousy

2) Jealousy:

Saul Had become so messed up in His mind that he became Jealous of David and all David was doing was obeying the lord

And on the other Hand you had David being Wise

So Jealousy; it is a product of the flesh , Specifically insecurity and Fear

Insecurities and Fear come from someone not being surrendered to the Lord

Someone who doesn’t obey the Lord and what he has for them and that is Saul

He’s become fearful of losing His position and insecure of this young dude that was nothing but a Shepard

again a byproduct of not being surrendered to the Lord

back in chapter 15 Saul rejected the Lord so God stripped Him of the Kingdom and were seeing in this chapter David slowly start His journey to taking it over

Again Insecurity and Fear lead to Jealousy

James 3:16 “16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

Jealous people Like Saul are generally self seeking people

they don’t like to see others become successful at what ever it is. Like Saul with David

Jealous people create confusion because with them all decisions are based on what benefits them and their agenda

Jealousy & Envy are a lack of ability to see what God has already done in someones life

Saul had the ability to See what God had done in His life at the beginning of His reign , but now he’s become too focused on what he doesn’t have

Saul was Jealous that the people sang praise for David for Killing His ten thousands over Saul’s thousands

comparison is another component to Jealousy

God may give us all talents and gifts in different areas; and sometimes our hearts when they are in the wrong place go into comparison mode and Jealousy starts to come about

I think its trippy to read this Chapter and see the effect Jealousy has on someone

Jealous people will go to crazy lengths to stop what ever it is thats making them Jealous

Saul was so caught up in this with David ; He tried everything in His power to have David Killed

Why ? Because He was Jealous

But heres the cool part and this is what i’ve been learning in my own life recently

Regardless of Jealous people or people who struggle with Jealousy

God is always going to win

Just Like Saul going to the lengths he went , He ultimately couldn’t stop what God had planned for David

Maybe for some of you , you might struggle with Jealousy or know someone that is Jealous of you

At the end of the day when your surrendered to the Lord , A jealous person can try to dethrone you or try to Hurt you or try to slow you down.

Let them God will always have the last say and he will Always protect those who are walking in His will

David is the perfect contrast to this

He became the target of Saul’s Jealousy

But what Did He do ?

He stayed His course ; He didn’t let a jealous person cause him to act out

He knew the plans God had for him and he stayed true to that

He almost Lost His life twice with Saul chucking a spear at him

But what did he do he kept being a man of God even when he was being attacked by a Jealous man

He became more wise because of His trust in the Lord

Many of us in life are going to experience some Kind of wrath because of Jealousy

But what do you do about it ?

You stay the course Like David

You Peel back and watch and Pray and you seek God during the hard times

and you also pray for those enemies

Remember if God is for us , who can be against us ?

so for those of you who struggle with Jealousy; I encourage you to seek the Lord and Pray

for those of you who are experiencing some kind of Back lash from someone who might be Jealous of you ; Keep seeking the Lord and don’t act in any other manner other than being wise !

Don’t do it !

One last thing when people are jealous Like Saul here in this chapter , they stick out like a sore thumb

Pray for those people.