David and Saul – What Does This Mean?

[Twenty-Seventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: David was a good man. He was a soldier who defended his king and his country. The people loved him and loved King Saul because of him. Prince Jonathan was his best friend. Princess Michal loved him and married him.

Yet King Saul was jealous of him. Like most kings, he was afraid of anyone who might take his kingdom from him. Because Saul saw David as a threat, he missed out on the good things a loyal and talented son-in-law could bring him. So, Saul tried to kill David. Jonathan and Michal warn David and help him escape Saul’s grasp. The future king seeks Samuel, and together they hide in the wild areas near Bethlehem. For a while, he hid in various Philistine cities and eventually returned to caves near Bethlehem. Members of his family and four hundred fighting men gathered with him there.

Soon, Saul would send an army to look for David and eventually led them. They played a cat-and-mouse game for some time. Twice, David snuck into Saul’s camp and took a personal item from him. Each time, he would display the item to Saul in the morning to prove his loyalty. Eventually, Saul gave up the effort to catch David and went after the Philistines. Saul, Jonathan, and most of Saul’s sons died in battle with them.

David would have been justified in taking the throne from Saul. No one would blame him if he killed Saul. But David loved God and Saul. He remained loyal until the day Saul and Jonathan died. Even when he had chances to kill Saul, he spared the king. After their deaths, he assumed the throne of Israel. For the rest of his life, he protected the disabled son of Jonathan.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana