1 Samuel 18:1-30: Saul’s Jealousy of David

1 Samuel 18:1-30: Saul’s Jealousy of David

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Samuel, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Samuel 18:1-30, so I’ll be reading a selection of verses from that passage. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

¹ As soon as 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. ² And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And 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. ⁵ And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. ⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” ⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on. ¹⁰ The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹ And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice. ¹² Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. ¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. ¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife. ²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David…. ²⁸ But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually. ³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.  

May God bless the reading of his Word.

 Let’s pray: Father, what a privilege it is to open and study your word. We understand that these words come from your very mouth. They’re God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. So help us, by your Holy Spirit, to be thoroughly equipped for each of those things and ultimately to come to a deeper knowledge, a deeper love, and a deeper relationship with you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

When we see that others have been blessed in ways that we haven’t, it’s often very tempting to allow ourselves to become jealous. For example, back when I was in college, I had a part-time job at Sears selling appliances and was paid entirely on commission. And there were many days when business wasn’t really that great. There’s a reason why you don’t see that many Sears stores around anymore. There were many days when I worked a full shift yet only sold one or two items. And particularly on those slower days, it was very easy to become jealous of coworkers who had better days than I did—as you can probably imagine. Yet here’s what’s interesting. Even if I had a pretty good day and sold a lot of appliances and made a decent amount of money, I discovered that I was still tempted to be jealous of those who sold more than me. Even when I had a good day, I was still tempted to be jealous of those who had a better day.

And, of course, when you think about it, that’s not very rational. Yet that’s the way our sinful hearts so often respond to the blessings of others. Instead of rejoicing in the ways God’s blessed us, we resent the ways he’s blessed others. It’s been said that jealousy is the art of counting other people’s blessings instead of our own.

And we’re tempted to do that in many different areas of life. It’s quite common for people to be jealous of the material possessions of others, the popularity or social status of others, the physical attractiveness of others, the professional achievements of others, and the families or friendships others have. And it seems to me that social media often exacerbates those feelings of jealousy. When we see others on social media enjoying the things we desire to enjoy, it often provokes jealousy within us.

And the thing about jealousy is that it robs us of our joy. It’s impossible to be jealous of others and joyful in Christ at the same time. The two are mutually exclusive. Jealous people are joyless people. Having a heart that’s filled with jealousy is truly a miserable way to live—not to mention a way to live that displeases God. So, how can we overcome the jealousy that so often threatens to gain a place within our hearts? And how can we instead cultivate a heart of joy, peace, gratitude, and contentment? These are some of the things our main passage today of 1 Samuel 18 will lead us to consider.

In this passage, we see Saul becoming quite jealous of David. And that’s the main idea of this passage. Saul becomes increasingly jealous and fearful of the fact that the Lord is with David. Again, Saul becomes increasingly jealous and fearful of the fact that the Lord is with David.

So, let’s jump into this passage, beginning with verses 1-4. It says, ¹ As soon as he [David] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And 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.  

The way Jonathan treats David in these verses—and the way he loves David—is astonishing, to say the last. Considering the circumstances, I think just about everyone would expect Jonathan and David to be rivals. Jonathan, of course, was the son of King Saul and was therefore next in line to inherit the throne. You may also remember that Jonathan had achieved some impressive military successes of his own. Yet, in the previous chapter, David overshadowed all of Jonathan’s military accomplishments by defeating Goliath. So, Jonathan had every reason to resent David and be jealous of David for “one upping” him, so to speak. It would also be very understandable for Jonathan to fear that David would displace him as the next king of Israel—which is, of course, what’s ultimately going to happen. So, we’d expect Jonathan to be bitterly resentful of David’s success.

Yet, contrary to all expectation, Jonathan befriends David. Instead of hating David, we’re told in verse 1 that “Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” We’re then told in verse 3 that “Jonathan made a covenant”—or a solemn and binding agreement—“with David, because he loved him as his own soul.” And verse 4 tells us that Jonathan even gave David his robe, armor, sword, and bow. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Jonathan gave David his favorite Pokémon cards as well, though the textual evidence for that is admittedly a bit disputed. But that’s how much Jonathan loved David—so much that he gave David his most treasured possessions.

After that, we read in verse 5, “And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” This verse is a summary statement of how high David rose in the administration of King Saul. He was basically the Secretary of Defense, in command of Saul’s entire army. We’re told that Saul appointed David to this post after “David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him”—which probably encompasses several years. So, again, verse 5 is a summary statement of David’s military career, likely spanning several years.

The subsequent verses then take us back to the immediate aftermath of David defeating Goliath. Look at verses 6-9: ⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” ⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

So, Saul’s jealousy is triggered by the song of the Israelite women, in which they sang, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” Now, scholars tell us that the conventions of Hebrew poetry are such that this song lyric was likely not intended as an insult to Saul. Saul and David are linked together in victory, and in the parallelism that often marked Hebrew poetry, it was customary to put a smaller number on the first line and then follow that up with a larger number on the second line. For example, in introducing what are often called the “seven deadly sins,” Proverbs 6:16 states, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him.” That’s a very common way for the literary device of parallelism to be utilized in Hebrew poetry—with a smaller number followed by a larger number but not implying a strict division between the two items that are mentioned.

So, back in our main passage, the basic meaning of this song lyric would therefore be that both Saul and David have struck down their thousands and ten thousands. One scholar concludes that this song “credits Saul and David with equal military honor.” So, it’s very likely that Saul’s being a bit paranoid here—or, at the very least, overly sensitive—about the implications of this song lyric. Nevertheless, we’re told in verse 8 that “Saul was very angry” and in verse 9 that “Saul eyed David from that day on.” So, this was the beginning of Saul’s jealousy toward David.

And I think it’s helpful for us to notice here that Saul’s jealousy was provoked specifically when Saul started comparing himself to David. Likewise, isn’t that what so often produces jealousy within our own hearts as well? It’s when we start comparing ourselves with other people that we’re tempted to become jealous of them. I mentioned earlier how, even when I had a great day selling appliances at Sears, I was often tempted to be jealous of any coworkers who had an even better day. If I hadn’t been aware of how well my coworkers had done, I would’ve been very happy with how good of a day I had. But, instead, my heart was provoked to jealousy because I had a habit of comparing myself with my coworkers.

And it’s not particularly difficult to identify other examples as well of us being provoked to jealousy by our tendency to compare ourselves with others. You might be very happy with your new Honda until you see the new Mercedes in your neighbor’s driveway. You might be very happy with your vacation to Myrtle Beach until you see pictures on Instagram of your friend’s vacation to Paris. The reason we struggle so much with jealousy is because we’re regularly tempted to compare ourselves with others. Just as a swamp is a breeding ground for mosquitos, our habit of almost continually comparing ourselves with others is the breeding ground of our jealousy. 

And if you dig even deeper into what’s going on within our hearts, I believe you’ll discover that there are two roots of jealousy. One of them is ungratefulness. We’re jealous ultimately because we’ve neglected to be grateful for the immense ways in which God’s blessed us. And the Bible’s clear that that lack of gratitude is a sin. Many theologians actually believe it’s the most foundational sin, citing Romans 1:21.

In addition, a second root of jealousy is often insecurity. Although jealousy isn’t always rooted in insecurity, it’s very common for insecurity to play a big role in provoking us to jealousy. This was certainly the case for Saul. Saul was insecure in his position as king—and with good reason, since God had told Saul back in chapter 15 that the kingship would be taken away from him because of his disobedience. So, it was Saul’s insecurity that made him predisposed to jealousy. Saul’s heart was like a dry forest that hadn’t seen rain in months and that was therefore easily ignited to jealousy by the spark of a simple song lyric sung by the women of Israel that was probably not even intended to be insulting.

In addition, notice the contrast between Saul and his son Jonathan. Recall that, as I mentioned earlier, it was Jonathan—rather than Saul—whom we’d naturally expect to become jealous of David and view David as a rival. Yet, unlike Saul, who become bitterly jealous of David, Jonathan loved David “as his own soul” and formed a deep and abiding friendship with David.

This undoubtedly involved Jonathan rejoicing at David’s success. And that’s the disposition we’re called to have as Christians. Instead of being jealous of the ways God’s blessed others as Saul was, we’re called to rejoice in God’s blessing toward others as Jonathan did.

Romans 12:15 tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice.” When someone we know experiences success, receives public recognition, or enjoys some other kind of blessing, our first instinct shouldn’t be to be jealous of them but rather to be genuinely happy for them and to rejoice with them.

Yet, many times, if we’re honest, it’s not always that easy, is it? I think it’s safe to assume that the reason Paul had to tell the Christians of Rome to “rejoice with those who rejoice” is because that’s often not our natural disposition. Depending on the circumstance, it may actually be a pretty big struggle for us to rejoice in the blessings of others—particularly if we’ve long desired those blessings for ourselves.

Yet that’s when we have to remind ourselves of the incomparably wonderful blessings of the gospel. The message of the gospel reminds us that there was a time when all of us were thoroughly sinful and enslaved by our sinful desires and destined to be punished for our sins forever in hell. But, in his mercy, God sent his own Son Jesus to come to this earth and rescue us. Jesus became one of us—a real flesh-and-blood human being—and proceeded to live a perfectly righteous life. He then allowed himself to be crucified in order to pay for our sins. God the Father’s wrath was poured out on Jesus so it wouldn’t have to be poured out on us. That’s why Jesus dying on the cross is so significant. He functioned as our substitute and suffered the punishment our sins deserved.

Then, after dying on the cross and being buried in a tomb, Jesus was triumphantly raised from the dead and now offers to save everyone who turns away from their sin and puts their trust in him. This means that we stop trusting in anything we try to do in a misguided effort to earn God’s favor or earn eternal life and instead put our confidence in Jesus alone as the only one who can cleanse of us our sins and make us right with God. And that’s exactly what he’ll do.

In fact, Ephesians 1:3 tells us that, in Christ, we enjoy “every spiritual blessing.” Think about that. For those of us who are Christians, “every spiritual blessing” we could possibly imagine or desire is already ours through Jesus and what he’s done for us. And listen: that’s what enables us to overcome the jealousy that would otherwise fill our hearts. When we grasp the wondrous and glorious blessings that are ours in Christ, there simply isn’t any room left in our hearts for jealousy.

Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 1 that, in his love, God adopted us into his family. Not only are we forgiven of our sins, we’re actually adopted into God’s own family as his own dearly loved children. We don’t have to feel insecure about anything because we’re already unconditionally loved and fully accepted in Christ. Paul then goes on to say in verses 7-8 that, ⁷ In him [that is, in Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. Then, a little further down, we read in verses 13-14 that God’s even come to dwell within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, who functions as a down payment of our heavenly inheritance until we acquire possession of it.

Brothers and sisters, we couldn’t be more blessed than we already are. So, what’s left to be jealous of when we already possess “every spiritual blessing” in Christ? Any jealousy we have toward others for the earthly blessings they enjoy is like a child who’s just been told that they’re going to Disneyworld being jealous of their friend because their friend gets to go to McDonald’s. It just makes no sense. It makes no sense for us who enjoy such vast eternal blessings to be jealous of others for the earthly blessings they enjoy. In fact, I’d even say the degree of our jealousy reveals the degree to which we’ve haven’t yet fully grasped or appreciated the infinite blessings that are ours in Christ.

So, this is how we can rejoice with others when they receive that promotion at work, when they get married, when they become pregnant, when they’re recognized for their accomplishments, when they purchase a spacious house, when they get to go on a nice vacation, and when they enjoy whatever other blessings we might wish to enjoy ourselves. It’s as we remember the infinite and eternal blessings that are ours in Christ that we can genuinely rejoice with others in all of these situations.

Yet, returning to our main passage in 1 Samuel 18, we see that that’s unfortunately not at all the perspective Saul has. Instead of rejoicing with David as Jonathan did, Saul’s bitterly jealous toward David.

We then read in verses 10-11, ¹⁰ The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹ And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice. 

Now, notice how we’re told that “a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul.” And if you’ve been paying careful attention as we’ve journeyed through 1 Samuel, you may recall that this phrase “rushed upon” has been used on several previous occasions. In 1 Samuel 10:10, we were told that “the Spirit of God rushed upon” Saul with the result that he prophesied with a group of prophets. That, of course, is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Then, in 1 Samuel 16:13, we were told that “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.”

Yet now, we read that, instead of “the Spirit of the Lord” rushing upon Saul, “a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul.” God allowed a demonic spirit to afflict Saul and cause Saul to become more or less mentally deranged for a period of time. We read that Saul “raved within his house.” Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated as “raved” is the very same word that earlier was translated as “prophesied” when we were told back in chapter 10 that “the Spirit of God rushed upon” Saul and led him to prophesy. Yet, now, in striking contrast to his earlier “prophesying” when the Holy Spirit rushed upon him, we read about Saul “raving” when a demonic spirit rushes upon him.  

Verse 12 then tells us what we’ve already seen illustrated by Saul’s erratic behavior. It states that, “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.” That’s really the crux of what’s going on in this chapter. Remember what we said is the main idea of this passage: Saul becomes increasingly jealous and fearful of the fact that the Lord is with David. God’s hand is on David—and Saul knows it. And Saul’s afraid of David because of it.

All of this is further illustrated in verses 13-16: ¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. So, instead of David being Saul’s Secretary of Defense, Saul gives David a pretty big demotion and makes him only “a commander of a thousand.” Yet, despite this demotion, we’re told that “David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.”

We then read in verses 17-27 about Saul’s schemes to bring about David’s early demise. Basically, Saul tries to use his own daughters to plot David’s death at the hands of the Philistines. But, unsurprisingly, those schemes aren’t successful.

Verses 28-30 then tell us, ²⁸ But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually. ³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

So, notice the number of times this passage has told us that the Lord was with David. By the way, whenever you’re studying the Bible, one literary feature you always want to be on the lookout for is repetition. Whenever a word or phrase is repeated, you should always pay careful attention to that. And we’ve been told three times in this chapter that the Lord was with David. Verse 12 states that “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.” Verse 14 states, “And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.” And verse 28 states that “Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David….” Without question, that was the key to David’s success. David was successful in all of his undertakings because “the Lord was with him.”

Likewise, it’s important for us to remember that we also need God’s empowering presence in order to be successful in the work he’s called those of us who are Christians to do. As Psalm 127:1 so aptly reminds us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Unless God’s with us—as he was with David in our main passage—all of things we try to do for him are in vain. We desperately need God to be with us.

Thankfully, Jesus has promised us that very thing. We recite his promise every week here at Redeeming Grace. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells his disciples, ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So, as you can see, Jesus gives us not only a commission but also a promise. Just as our main passage told us three times that the Lord was “with” David, Jesus has promised to be “with” us. He does that, of course, through the Holy Spirit.

And our understanding of that incredible promise makes all the difference in the world when it comes to us having boldness and confidence in our gospel witness. You might compare it to a young child having their parent with them in a busy and unfamiliar place. For example, if I took my 5-year-old son to downtown Pittsburgh, he’d undoubtedly have a great time. He’d be so excited about the tall buildings and the large fountain and all of the other features of the downtown area. But he’d only be excited about his downtown adventure if I was with him. If he somehow ended up in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh alone, he’d be terrified—and understandably so.

And in a similar way, it’s the presence of Jesus with us that gives us boldness and confidence in our gospel witness. Even though we might otherwise be intimidated at the thought of sharing the gospel with those around us—or feel unqualified or inadequate—when we remember that Jesus promises to be with us as we seek to share the gospel, that should give us the boldness and confidence we need to have those gospel conversations.

The fact is that you don’t need to be some sort of “rockstar Christian” to have an effective gospel witness. You just need to be obedient to what Jesus instructs us to do by building relationships with those who aren’t yet Christians and having meaningful conversations about Jesus with them—with the confidence that Jesus will empower you as you seek to do that. That’s what it means for him to be “with” us. It means that he’ll work through us in such a way that his power overshadows all of our weaknesses.

And ultimately, it’s the presence of Jesus “with” us that gives us great confidence not only that our own personal efforts to spread the gospel will be fruitful but also that the so-called Great Commission as a whole will one day be fulfilled as the gospel becomes pervasive in this world.

The Bible paints a beautiful picture of this triumph of the gospel in passage after passage. Habakkuk 2:14 states, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” In Isaiah 49:6, God the Father says to the Messiah, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” God also says in Zechariah 9:10, “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he [the Messiah] shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Furthermore, in Psalm 22:7, the psalmist declares, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” In addition, God himself declares in Malachi 1:11, “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” And in Matthew 13:33, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” God’s kingdom will one day be just as pervasive in this world as leaven eventually grows to be in a batch of dough.

And going back to the Great Commission, it simply stands to reason that Jesus gave us the Great Commission because he expects it to be accomplished. On top of that, as I alluded to a few moments ago, our confidence that the Great Commission will one day be accomplished is further bolstered by the promise Jesus gives us that he’ll be “with” us. Our confidence isn’t in our own abilities or our cleverness or our charisma or our own anything but rather in Jesus being “with [us] always, to the end of the age.

So, again, just as 1 Samuel 18 told us three times that the Lord was “with” David, Jesus has promised to be “with” us. And that’s incredibly significant because that’s what gives us confidence that the commission he’s given us will one day be fulfilled. As Psalm 20:7 says so well, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”