Episode 111: Jonathan loved David

1 Samuel 19-20

Saul tries to kill David

19 ¹ Saul told his servants and his son, Jonathan, to kill David.

² But Jonathan was delighted by David. So he said to David,

Hide in a secret place until morning.

I'll keep an eye on my father and tell you what he's up to.

⁴ Jonathan tried to talk his father out of killing David, saying,

David never did anything to hurt you.

You saw him kill that giant Philistine.

So why do you want to kill him?

⁶ And it seemed to work. Saul swore he wouldn't kill David.

⁸ Meanwhile, war broke out with the Philistines. So David went out and killed them with a great slaughter.

^9-10 After the slaughter, God's evil spirit plagued Saul, and he tried to kill David by nailing him to the wall with his javelin. But David slipped away.

¹¹ David's wife, Michal, told David that he'd better leave.

¹² And she helped him escape through a window.

¹³ Then Michal put an image in the bed to make it look like David was still sleeping there.

¹⁴ Saul sent messengers to capture David, but Michal said David was sick.

¹⁵ Saul sent the messengers again, who said to Michal, "Bring him to me, so I can kill him."

¹⁶ But when the messengers looked for David in his bed, they found the image that Michal had put there.

¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me by letting him escape?"

Michal said, "Because he said he'd kill me if I didn't help him get away."

Saul, the naked prophet

¹⁸ David fled to Ramah and told Samuel that Saul tried to kill him.

^19-20 When Saul found out that David was in Ramah, he sent messengers to capture him.

But when the messengers arrived and saw everyone prophesying, the spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they began prophesying.

²¹ When Saul was told about it, he sent more messengers, and they began prophesying, too. Saul sent a third set of messengers, and the same thing happened to them.

²² Finally Saul decided to go to Ramah to see the prophesying firsthand.

^23-24 So Saul went there, and the Spirit of God came upon him too, and he took off all of his clothes and prophesied naked all day and night. That's why everyone says, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

The special relationship between Jonathan and David

20 ¹ David visited Jonathan, and said to him, "Why does your father want to kill me?"

² Jonathan said, "I don't know, but I’ll find out."

³ David said, "Your father knows how you feel about me."

⁴ Then Jonathan said to David,

Whatever your heart desires, I'll do for you.

¹¹ Come, let us go out into the field.

And they went out into the field together.

¹⁷ Jonathan loved David as his own soul.

²⁰ He devised a method to determine what will happen to David.

He'll shoot three arrows in the direction of a boy who stands out in the field.

²¹ If the arrows fall before the boy, then it's safe for David to return.

²² But if they land farther than the boy ran, then God will send David away.

^24-25 At dinner the next day, Saul said to Jonathan,

³⁰ You son of a perverse rebellious woman!

You've chosen David to your own confusion and the confusion of your mother's nakedness.

³¹ Bring him to me, for he will surely die.

³² Jonathan said, "Why do you want to kill him?"

³³ Saul answered his son's question by throwing a javelin at him.

³⁵ The next morning, Jonathan and David went out to the field again.

After sending a boy out into the field, he shot an arrow at him.

³⁶ The arrows landed beyond the boy, so God sent David away (since it wasn't safe around Saul).

⁴¹ David fell on his face and bowed three times.

When the boy was gone, they kissed one another and wept until David exceeded.

⁴² Then David left, after they said goodbye to each other,.