Read 1 Samuel 18 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
17:57-18:5 {p} Saul took David from his father and set him over his men of war
18:6-9 {s} The women extol Saul and David/ Saul eyed David jealously from that day for-ward
18:10-13 {s} Saul’s first attempt to kill David, and he removed him from his presence
18:14-16 {p} David behaved wisely and YHVH was with him/ Saul feared him but the people loved him
18:17 {s} Saul’s second attempt to kill David, in warfare with the Philistines
18:18-27 {s} David and the daughters of Saul/ his third attempt to kill David, in the matter of the dowry
18:28-29 {p} YHVH was with David, so that Saul feared him even more and made himself David’s enemy
18:30 {s} David behaved more wisely than all Saul’s servants, so that his name was greatly esteemed
The Strong themes:
18:6-16 {s+s+p} The love of the people for David, so that Saul envied him, feared him, and tried to kill him
18:17-29 {s+s+p} Saul sought to kill David by the Philistines/ David’s marriage to Saul’s daughter, however Saul made himself David’s enemy
Did you notice that Saul tried to kill David three times in this chapter? Three, a Sign of Messiah in Scripture. Last chapter we saw the Sign of Messiah of resurrection life, and now Scripture is continuing to establish David as a Prophetic Type for Messiah.
David, although doing nothing wrong, instead behaving wisely so that he prospered greatly in whatever he did, drew Saul’s jealousy and enmity. He made himself David’s enemy. Saul, who began as a humble servant of YHVH, quickly let position and power go to his head, his gateway mistake. Then he began editing YHVH’s commandments, disobeying whatever was too inconvenient. And now he was on a path of destruction. When YHVH rejected him from being king, he began to be tormented by an evil spirit, and in his declining mental health, attempted the murder of his most loyal and successful servant. You might say that as he made himself David’s enemy, he also made himself YHVH’s enemy. It is always the enemies of YHVH who oppose the Messiah. We Learn from the Narrative that the lies that the devil torments us with, are not harmless.
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Lies are not harmless – Christine Miller
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