+April 7 - Nº 97 1 Samuel 19
Saul wanted David to die! He commanded his son, Jonathan, as well as all his servants, to find David and kill him. Instead, Jonathan rushed out to warn his friend. “My father is looking for a chance to kill you,” he whispered. “I will go stand in the field and try to reason with him while you hide.” Jonathan told his father all the good things David had done. He explained how loyal the young shepherd was, and how he continually risked his life to go to battle against their enemies. “Why would you kill him for no reason?” he questioned. Saul decided to listen to his son. He promised to let David live, so David returned to live in the king’s court and serve. Soon another war broke out, and David left to fight against the Philistines. Once again, God gave David a great victory. And once again, Saul became very jealous. An evil spirit came on him as it had many times before. While David was playing his harp to soothe him, the king grabbed his spear and threw it violently. He was hoping to pin David to the wall. But once again, David jumped out of the way just in time. That night Saul sent men to guard David’s house. The plan was for them to capture and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal heard her father’s plan and warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow morning you will die!” She helped him escape out the window, then took an idol and laid it on his bed. She covered it with a robe and some goat’s hair to make it look like David was sleeping. The next morning, when Saul sent the men to capture him, Michal said, “He can’t get up. He is sick in bed.” When the men told Saul, he insisted, “Go and get him right now! Bring him to me in his bed so that I can kill him!” When they went back to David’s room, they realized they had been tricked. Saul yelled at Michal, “Why did you deceive me and help my enemy escape?” Michal tried to justify her actions. “David threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him,” she lied. David escaped and ran to Samuel. He told the aging prophet everything that Saul had done. Saul found out that David was with Samuel, and he sent men to capture him. When the men came near the place where Samuel was staying, the Spirit of God came on them. They sat down and started prophesying like others who had gathered around Samuel. When Saul heard about this, he sent another group of men. The same thing happened to them. So, Saul sent a third group. Again, they sat down and began to prophesy. Finally, Saul decided to capture David himself. When he got close to where Samuel and David were, the Spirit of God came on him, too. He started prophesying as he walked along. When he arrived, he stripped off his royal robes and continued to prophesy in Samuel’s presence. Finally, he collapsed and lay there exhausted all day and night – giving David plenty of time to escape.
If someone in authority told you to do something that God says is wrong, what would you do? When Saul instructed Jonathan to murder David, Jonathan knew that he should obey God rather than his father (who was also the king). When there is a conflict, it is far more important to obey God’s commands than anyone else’s!
