1 Samuel 19:1 - 20:42: David Flees for His Life

1 Samuel 19:1 - 20:42: David Flees for His Life

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 chapter 19 verse 1 through chapter 20 verse 42, so I’ll be reading a selection of verses from that passage. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

¹ And 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. ² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” ⁴ And 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. ⁵ For 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?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ And 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…. ⁹ Then 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. ¹⁰ And 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. ¹¹ Saul 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.” ¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³ Michal 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. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul 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?’ ” ¹⁸ Now 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. ¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah….

May God bless the reading of his Word.

 Let’s pray: Father, we read in Psalm 19 that your law is perfect, reviving the soul. Your testimony is sure, making wise the simple. Your precepts are right, giving joy to the heart. And your commandments are pure, enlightening the eyes. So, please, as we dig into your Word this morning, revive our souls, give wisdom to our minds, impart joy to our hearts, and enlighten our eyes. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

You don’t have to be a Christian for very long to figure out that Christians aren’t immune from trials. I’m sure there are many people even in this room right now who are facing various kinds of trials in their lives such as marital difficulties, parenting difficulties, financial hardships, health ailments, workplace challenges, or struggles with anxiety, loneliness, grief, or depression. There are so many different kinds of trials we often face. And even if you personally aren’t in the midst of a trial right now, it probably won’t be very long before you do find yourself in the midst of a trial. I’ve heard it said that each one of us is either currently experiencing a trial, about to experience a trial, or just coming out of a trial—and that certainly seems to be true.

Not only that, it can often be a struggle for us not to lose sight of God in the midst of our trials. You might compare it to a cloudy day. As those who live in the Pittsburgh area, I think it’s safe to say that we know a thing or two about cloudy days. It sometimes feels like entire weeks go by without us getting to see the sun hardly at all. And, of course, that’s because heavy clouds obscure our vision of the sun. Yet, even when we can’t clearly see the sun, we know it’s still up there because, although we can’t see the sun itself, we can see much of the light it produces. 

Similarly, there are times in our lives when it’s difficult to “see” God, so to speak, and when we feel distant from God. Yet, even during those difficult seasons, there are signs that God’s still with us and that he’s at work in us and through us and all around us. And that’s exactly what we see illustrated here in 1 Samuel chapters 19 and 20 in the trials David endures as Saul repeatedly attempts to kill him.

The main idea of these two chapters it that, each time Saul attempts to kill David, the Lord preserves David’s life. Again, each time Saul attempts to kill David, the Lord preserves David’s life. And I believe the truths and principles we glean from David’s trials in these chapters will be a tremendous encouragement to us in the midst of the trials we so often face. 

Now, just as a reminder of what’s happened in the previous chapters that’s brought us to this point, God told Saul that he’d rejected Saul as king. God then sent the prophet Samuel to anoint David as the new king—without Saul’s knowledge. David then defeated Goliath in a very dramatic fashion and became famous throughout Israel. However, it wasn’t long before Saul became jealous of David and started seeking to take David’s life. And here in 1 Samuel 19-20, Saul becomes even more aggressive in his efforts to kill David.

In the first few verses of chapter 19, Saul gives instructions to his servants to kill David, but Jonathan warns David about the danger and then manages to persuade his father Saul to call off the hit he had placed on David. Verses 4-6 tell us, ⁴ And 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. ⁵ For 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?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 

Unfortunately, though, that oath doesn’t last very long. We read in verses 8-10, ⁸ And 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. ⁹ Then 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. ¹⁰ And 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.  

David then goes back to his house, but Saul sends messengers to David’s house to keep tabs on him so that he can kill David the next morning. However, David’s wife Michal—who, if you remember, is also Saul’s daughter—somehow learns of what her father Saul plans to do and warns David about the mortal danger he’s in. We then read in verses 12-17, ¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³ Michal 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. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul 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?’ ”

So, Saul’s own daughter Michal warns David about the danger he’s in and then deceives her own father in order to give David a chance to escape and get out of town. And one thing I think we can glean from that is that, just as Michal was put in a position where she had to choose between loyalty to her father Saul and loyalty to her husband David, there are times when we have to choose between loyalty to the people around us and loyalty to God. Of course, we should always try our best to maintain good relationships with those around us. However, there are times when that’s just not possible and we’re faced with a choice between two mutually exclusive options: either pleasing God by doing what he tells us to do or pleasing people by doing what they want us to do.

Sometimes—especially in other parts of the world—someone’s family will actually disown them for becoming a Christian. And I’ve also known several people who have experienced that even here in the United States. Yet even if we never face a situation that’s quite that extreme, it’s still not uncommon for us to have to choose between being faithful to God or conforming to the expectations of our family. And it might be something as simple as whether we still attend church when our relatives are in town visiting us or something as sensitive as whether we affirm the transgender identity of a family member whom we care about very deeply.

Then, back in our main passage, after David escapes with the assistance of his wife Michal, David flees to the prophet Samuel several miles away in Ramah. Not surprisingly, though, Saul soon learns where David’s staying and sends messengers to arrest him. However, those messengers have a little bit of difficulty completing their assignment. Look at verses 20-21: ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 

Now, we’re not told exactly what these messengers were saying as they prophesied. They could have been praising God or rebuking each other or saying anything else the Spirit of God led them to say. Yet, whatever it was that they said, their prophesying prevented them from arresting David. And you have to appreciate how comical this is. I think God intended it to be comical. After all, God could have prevented these messengers from arresting David in any number of other ways. He could have struck them dead or caused them to become suddenly ill or sent the Philistines to attack Israel so that the messengers would be needed elsewhere. Yet God didn’t do any of those things. Instead, in modern terminology, I guess we could say that God employed a pretty boss move on these messengers by having them prophesy—so that they were not only prevented from carrying out their mission but even ended up proclaiming God’s praises or proclaiming some type of divine message instead. 

Yet that’s not the end of it. Because after this happens three times to Saul’s messengers, Saul finally gets fed up and goes to Ramah himself in order to kill David. Yet we’re told in verses 23-24 that ²³ …the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night….

So, not only is Saul also filled with an irresistible urge to prophesy, he somehow ends up doing so without any clothes on. The point is that Saul’s utterly humiliated. Saul foolishly thought he could oppose God’s will and somehow come out on top. Yet we see how well that worked out for him. Not very well at all. Instead of being successful, he’s utterly humiliated.

This is an excellent reminder for us that nothing can stop God from accomplishing his sovereign purposes. I love the way this is expressed in Isaiah 46:9-10, where God says, ⁹ “…I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” We serve a God whose purposes can’t be thwarted.

Not only that, as we consider the events of 1 Samuel 19, I think it’s also important to consider David and the repeated trials David suffers as he flees for his life. In fact, from this point onward, David’s going to be “on the run” and will have to flee from one location to another in order to escape Saul. So, this is the beginning of a season of severe difficulty in David’s life. And the fact that David endures these trials exposes several mistaken assumptions we often make about the trials we face in our own lives. And before we go any further, I’d like to identify five of them. Five mistaken assumptions we often make about the trials we face.

The first is that, once we devote our lives to God, we won’t have to endure significant trials any longer. It’s not uncommon for new Christians especially to assume that, now that they’ve become a Christian, life will be easy—or at least that they won’t have to face significant suffering. Yet we see from David’s life that that’s simply not true. David undoubtedly enjoyed God’s favor and was devoted to God, yet he still endured prolonged seasons of severe difficulty. And we should expect the same.

In addition, a second mistaken assumption is that whenever we experience trials, God must be punishing us. Maybe we feel guilty for something we’ve done in the past, so we assume the trials we face are punishment for whatever we’ve done. Or maybe we’re not even conscious of having done anything exceptionally bad but are still tempted to believe that we must have done something pretty bad for God to allow us to suffer as we are. Yet, as we see from David’s life, this simply wasn’t the case. We have no indication whatsoever that David’s suffering—at least during this season of his life—was the result of David disobeying God in some way. And that’s true throughout the Bible—from Job to the Apostle Paul. There are plenty of examples of people enduring significant suffering that’s not in any way tied to disobedience on their part.

After that, a third mistaken assumption is that trials are a sign that God doesn’t truly love us or that he’s abandoned us. Yet, once again, we have clear indication that this wasn’t at all the case with David. We’ve been told over and over again in 1 Samuel that God’s “with” David. This is stated first in 1 Samuel 16:18 and is then stated three additional times in 1 Samuel 18—in verses 12, 14, and 28. In fact, this is the precise reason why Saul’s so jealous of David and feels so threated by him—because it’s clear even to Saul that God’s with David. 1 Samuel 18:12 tells us, “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.”

So, clearly, the fact that we experience trials in our lives isn’t in any way an indication that God’s abandoned us. In David’s life, it was the exact opposite. David experienced trials not because God wasn’t with him but because God was with him. And we can be confident that God will likewise be with us because he promises to be with us. Although God never promises us a life that’s free from difficulty, he does promise to be with us every step of the way through whatever difficulties we face. 

Moving on, a fourth mistaken assumption we often make is that, if only we had more faith, we could pray our way out of trials. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of false teaching out there that claims this is the case. As a result, many people are led to believe that if they can just work up enough faith within themselves, God will always answer their prayers to be delivered from their trials—whether it be financial difficulties, health ailments, or whatever other trials they might be facing. And of course, the implication of this is that prolonged trials in our lives are an indication that our faith must be lacking. Yet David in this chapter apparently didn’t get the memo about that. And neither did the Apostle Paul, who wrote this in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 about a trial he was facing. He says, ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Then, finally, a fifth mistaken assumption is that, if we can’t see a purpose for our trials, there must not be one. Yet the things we read about David’s trials lead us to conclude the exact opposite. Even though we have no indication that God ever explained to David the purpose behind his trials, it’s clear from the subsequent chapters of 1 Samuel that all of these trials are a part of God raising David up as the next king of Israel. And there are countless other verses in the Bible that are even more explicit in teaching us that God uses our trials to accomplish his purposes—even though we’re usually not aware of what exactly those purposes are. So, regardless of what we’re going through, we can be sure that none of the suffering we face is ever wasted. On the contrary, trials are actually one of the most important ways in which God accomplishes his purposes in our lives. 

So, these are five mistaken assumptions we’re often tempted to make about the trials we face. Yet we can see from what we read about David how mistaken these assumptions are.

Then, after chapter 19, we read in chapter 20 yet another account of Saul’s determination to kill David. This wasn’t a part of the Scripture reading earlier, but I’ll nevertheless summarize what happens. Basically, as Saul’s compelled to prophesy in Ramah, David decides that it’s probably not a good idea to stick around there. So, David travels back to Saul’s hometown of Gibeah and shares with Jonathan about the extreme danger he’s in. Yet, for some reason, Jonathan doubts that the danger is as extreme as David’s claiming. So, the two of them come up with a plan to determine whether Saul really intends to kill David or not. 

We read in verses 5-7, ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. So, basically, if Saul becomes angry at David’s absence from the feast, that’s a good indication that Saul intends to kill David.

We then read that Jonathan agrees to attend the feast and see whether his father Saul becomes angry at David’s absence—and then covertly signal to David whether his life is still in danger. Jonathan explains to David in verses 19-22 how he’ll give this signal. He states, ¹⁹ On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. ²⁰ “And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹ And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away.”

So, basically, if anyone happens to be observing Jonathan, it’ll seem as though Jonathan’s just giving instructions to this boy who’s with him about fetching the arrows. Yet, in reality, Jonathan’s instructions will be a signal to David about whether his life is in danger or not. 

We then read about Jonathan attending the feast, lying to his father Saul about the reason for David’s absence, observing how enraged his father becomes upon learning of David’s absence, and then warning David of the danger he’s in. Jonathan does this by telling the boy who’s fetching his arrows that the arrows are beyond him—which is the prearranged signal that David needs to flee. Jonathan then sends the boy away and decides to risk a face-to-face conversation with David, in which the two of them weep together and bid each other farewell. We then read in verse 42, Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

And as we consider everything that happens here, it’s remarkable that Jonathan demonstrates greater loyalty to David than he does to his own father Saul. Jonathan deceives Saul about the reason for David’s absence at the feast and then goes behind Saul’s back to warn David of the danger he’s in. And let’s also not forget about Saul’s daughter Michal who does something very similar in the previous chapter by deceiving the messengers Saul sends and then helping David escape.

This shows us that God can work in the most unlikely and unexpected ways to accomplish his perfect purposes. God demonstrates this by using the very people whom we might otherwise consider to be the most likely to be loyal to Saul in order to undermine Saul’s efforts to kill David. And of course, this is all a part of God’s larger plan to eventually remove Saul from the throne entirely and install David as king in Saul’s place. 

And there are several important gospel connections here that we don’t want to miss. First of all, just as David had been anointed to be the next king of Israel, Jesus was also God’s anointed. That’s actually what the word “Messiah” means—it means “Anointed One.” And just as Saul was determined to kill God’s anointed in our main passage, Satan was determined to kill God’s Anointed when God’s Anointed—Jesus—came to this earth.

Not only that, you may remember us reading about David that he was innocent of any crime against Saul. In 1 Samuel 19:5, Jonathan says to his father Saul, “…Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” Likewise, Jesus was “innocent” in an even greater way in that he was innocent of any sin whatsoever.

Isaiah 53:7-9 says of him, ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away…. ⁹ …although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Peter also alludes to this in 1 Peter 2:22, where he writes about Jesus that “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

So, like David, Jesus was “innocent” and yet was unjustly persecuted. Yet, unlike David, Jesus was actually put to death. Satan succeeded in his effort to put to death God’s Anointed One. However, that was actually a part of God’s perfect plan for redeeming us from our sin and thereby triumphing over Satan. 

And that’s another important parallel to our main passage. Just as God used Saul’s own family members—Michal and Jonathan—to triumph over Saul, God likewise uses Satan’s own scheme of killing the Messiah to triumph over Satan. The very scheme Satan employed in an attempt to sabotage God’s redemptive efforts—namely, killing the Messiah—was the very means God would ultimately use to triumph over Satan.

You see, when Jesus died, he was dying in order to make atonement for our sins. Even though our sins deserved God’s eternal punishment, Jesus suffered that punishment in our place through his death on the cross. Jesus suffered God’s punishment so we wouldn’t have to—the Innocent in place of the guilty. Jesus was then triumphantly raised from the dead with the result that he now stands ready to save everyone who puts their trust in him. That’s the response required on our part to be forgiven of our sins and receive the free gift of eternal life that God offers us. We have to renounce all confidence in our own moral accomplishments and instead put our confidence exclusively in Jesus for rescue.

And once we do that, we can have complete confidence that our eternal future is unshakably secure. Although we should still expect to face various trials during our earthly lives, we know that God will ultimately deliver us from all of those trials. As the Apostle Paul writes from prison in 2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” So, just as God delivered David time and time again in our main passage from the repeated attempts on his life, God will likewise deliver us from the earthly trials we face by ensuring our safe entrance into his heavenly kingdom.

Not only that, we should also be encouraged as we remember that, even though there may be some very dark periods in the history of this world, the ultimate triumph of Jesus is inevitable. The triumph that was accomplished through Jesus’s death and resurrection will one day be fully realized throughout this world. Of course, for the time being, Satan—like Saul—will try all sorts of things in his opposition to God’s Anointed One. And sometimes, it might even seem like Satan’s winning. Yet, just like Saul’s murderous schemes in our main passage failed time and time again, all of Satan’s schemes will ultimately amount to nothing—and the triumph of God’s Anointed One will be seen everywhere and in everything.

As we’re told in 1 Corinthians 15:24-25, ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. We also read in Revelation 11:15 the proclamation to be issued when Jesus comes again: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

So, even though there might be some very dark and difficult times both in this world as a whole and in our lives personally, we know in advance what the future holds. And it’s that certainty—more than anything else—that gets us through the trials we face. In fact, I’d even say that this is what enables us not just to get through our trials but to have a joy within our hearts that transcends our trials and a hope that rises above whatever circumstances we might be facing. So, if you’re looking for a joy and hope that no situation you face will ever be able to take away from you, understand that that joy and hope are found in Jesus.

You know, at the beginning of this sermon, I observed that just as heavy clouds block our view of the sun, the trials in our lives often make it difficult for us to not lose sight of God. Yet the day’s coming when there won’t be any more clouds obscuring our view of the radiance of God’s glory. Even night itself will be a thing of the past. Instead, we’re told about the eternal state in Revelation 22:3-5, ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.