Theme: The downward spiral of sin will always take you further than you ever intended to go.

In chapter 18, we noted that Saul became very jealous over David’s popularity and success.
a. When Saul heard the people ascribe thousands of enemies slain to himself, but 10’s of thousands to David, Saul immediately began to develop an evil eye toward David. (Vs 8 “Saul eyed David from that day and forward”)
b. By the end of the chapter, we found that Saul was more and more hateful toward David, as David continued to be popular with the people because of his good character. (Vs 29 “Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually.”)

In chapter 19, we find that Saul is no longer making any attempts to hide the fact that he wants David dead.

1. Chapter 19 shows us that, as long as he refuses to repent and be led by the Holy Spirit, the carnal Christian will continue to spiral out of control and will cause damage all around them for the sake of their own fleshly pursuits.
2. For the sake of this study, we will break the chapter down into the following divisions.
   1. Saul Placated by Jonathan (Vs 1-7)
   2. Saul Pursued David. (Vs 8-18)
   3. Saul Prophesied in Ramah (Vs 19-24)

I.   Saul Placated by Jonathan (Vs 1-7)

1. Saul openly planned David’s murder (Vs 1-3)
   a. David was God’s anointed; therefore, he was a high value target for the devil.
   i. “Satan is always that which is of great value – especially things of great moral and spiritual value. So, we should not be surprised that he attacks such things as the Word of God, the Lord’s Day, marriage, family, good morals, prayer, and holy living.”[1]John G Butler, 2008, Saul the Rejected king; Pg 309
   ii. While the Bible tells us that government is for the purpose of punishing evil doers (I Peter 2:14), King Saul was like many political leaders of today who use their office to persecute good people for their own political ends.
   b. “This informing of others about his evil intentions against David shows that Saul is unashamed of his sin. He no longer conceals his murderous intents but without apology makes his evil known to others.”[1] John G Butler, 2008, Saul the Rejected king; Pg 311
   i. “The pride of evil is especially known when men “come out of the closet” and unashamedly make their evil known to others.” … “When we do not repent of our sin, we will eventually give respect to our sin. When we cease to be ashamed of our sin, we will adore our sin. When we do not condemn sin, we will eventually commend it.”[1] John G Butler, 2008, Saul the Rejected king; Pg 311
   ii. This is and has been the case with the LGBTQ+ community and the pro-abortion crowd who rejoice in their iniquity, declaring themselves to be morally progressive and making that out to be an honourable thing.
2. Even though the previous chapter tells us repeatedly that David was loved and admired by Saul’s servants, they clearly didn’t let that get in the way of keeping Saul’s command.
   a. “Saul did not need to fear a revolt by his servants against him…They were more interested in position in court than purity in conduct. Ther main concern was position, not character… (many professing Christians) have no backbone, no strong convictions. That explains why we hear such unholy music in churches, for these folks offer little opposition to the intrusion of evil.”[1] John G Butler, 2008, Saul the Rejected king; Pg 312-313
   i. It has been well said that “All that is necessary for evil to prevail if for the good to do and say nothing about it.” If good men went stand in the pulpit and preach against sin and wickedness, then evil will go unchallenged.
3. Saul was placated by Jonathan (Vs 4-7)
   a. Jonathan challenged Saul about his own reasoning and motives in his attempt to kill David. Saul knew that David was a good man and that it was because of David that Israel was not, even now, under the thumb of the Philistines. (Vs 4b “his works have been to thee-ward very good.”)
   i. Saul knew that he was planning to “sin against innocent blood” but he had allowed his wrath against David to propel him down this path.
   ii. As a picture of the carnal Christian, Saul reminds us that the carnal Christian will be your best friend as long as your moral and doctrinal stands align with the direction they are heading in, but the minute they feel your stand is a rebuke to their lack of standards they will seek to discredit you and throw you under the bus.
   b. Jonathans intervention was enough to bring Saul back to reality for a little while but, lacking repentance, it would only be a matter of time before Saul was overtaken with hatred and the cycle would begin once again which would continue for the rest of Saul’s life.
   i. Saul’s promise not to harm David may or may not have been genuine, but it seems it was enough for Jonathan to take Saul’s word on the matter.
   ii. Whatever Saul’s motives may have been, we know this was only a temporary peace.

II.  Saul Pursued David. (Vs 8-18)

1. Saul attempted to skewer David (Vs 8-10)
   a. Once again, David was playing his harp in Saul’s presence when Saul was overcome with rage and attempted to skewer David with a javelin.
   i. This should have made it obvious to everyone around that Saul still wanted David gone but, as they do today, many people probably chalked it up to the evil spirit upon Saul and declared he wasn’t really responsible for his actions while under the influence.
   ii. Too many people have got away with committing crime because they were “mentally unstable”, or “they were under the influence of drugs.”
   b. Notice that the circumstances that predated this third attempt at assassination.
   i. Verse 8 tells us that David fought with the Philistines and slew them with a great slaughter so that they fled from him. David had been out handing another defeat to the Philistines. No doubt this had only served to make David even more popular with the Israelites and even less popular with king Saul.
   ii. Once again, we note that Saul was putting his own personal comfort and popularity above the well-being of his people. That it not good leadership. A good leader is willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of his people, but Saul was willing to sacrifice his people for his own personal satisfaction.
2. Saul attempted to trap David (Vs 11-18)
   a. Saul sent soldiers to David house to finish the job he had started. For Saul, the time of waiting was over, and it was time to get rid of David once and for all.
   i. David’s wife, Michal, warned David that he would be dead first thing in the morning if he didn’t make his escape by night. Being Saul’s daughter, Michal probably had a pretty good idea of just how hate driven Saul had become.
   ii. Michal made like Rahab and the two spies and let David down from the house via a window, allowing David to escape unharmed.
   b. Michal pretended David was seriously ill to delay Saul’s men.
   i. Michal placed a decoy in the bed so that the soldiers would see a bump under the bed sheets and think it was David.
   ii. When the soldiers reported to Saul and told him that David was sick in bed and wouldn’t leave his house, Saul ordered them to transport David to the palace upon his bed so that Saul could kill him while he lay there sick.
   c. The soldiers returned to take David, and found he was already gone.
   i. In chapter 18, Saul had said that he planned to use Michal as a snare for David, and he fully intended that she would be a useful tool in his own hands, but David had survived Saul’s best attempts to have the Philistines kill him and so Saul had been forced to give Michal to David as a wife.
   ii. Now, Saul questioned why Michal had allowed David to escape death, as though she should have been loyal to her father rather than Saul.
   d. Michal lied to Saul in order escape Saul’s wrath, telling Saul that David had threatened to kill her if she tried to stop him from escaping.
   i. So, David escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah. No doubt Samuel was very displeased to hear just how low Saul had sunk. The once well-favoured king had descended to the level of a common murdering criminal.
   ii. “The word naioth means “dwellings” and was probably a section in Ramah where the “school of the prophets” assembled. There Samuel and David could worship and pray and ask God for wisdom, and the prophets would pray with them.”^{[1]Warren W. Wiersbe,} Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 106–107.

III. Saul Prophesied in Ramah (Vs 19-24)

1. 1. 1. Saul’s messengers began to prophesy (Vs 19-21)
         a. Saul sent 3 bands of soldiers to capture David.
         i. When the soldiers came to take David, the Spirit of the Lord came upon them and they began to prophesy. Not that they became prophets, but that the Holy Spirit spoke through them and they worship God despite their original intent to take God’s man.
         ii. “God protected David and Samuel, not by sending an army but by sending the Holy Spirit to turn warriors into worshipers.” ^{[1]Warren W. Wiersbe,} Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 107.
         b. The fact that his men were being filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesying should have been an eye opener for Saul.
         i. When Saul had been anointed as king, he had experienced this same anointing of the Spirit which authenticated the message given by Samuel.
         ii. Now Samuel had anointed David, and this had also been authenticated with prophesies. This should have told Saul that he was fighting God, a career move which was certainly not wise.
      2. Saul began to prophesy before Samuel (Vs 22-24)
         a. Saul was not dissuaded from pursuing David.
         i. Having seen three bands of soldiers turn into worshippers with the other prophets, Saul decided to go to Ramah himself. I guess he had the same thought many have today; if you want a job done well you have to do it yourself.
         ii. I am reminded of another Saul who attempted to thwart the plans of God.
         – Acts 26:14 “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

   b. As Saul went through Ramah toward Naioth, the Spirit of God came upon him once again.

1.  i. The fact that the spirit of God came upon him is a strong indication that Saul was not being led by the evil spirit at this point.

1.    – The evil spirit would come upon Saul and stir him up to do evil and then would leave him to pursue that course of action, but God intervened to keep Saul from finishing the job.

1.  ii. When Saul awoke in the morning he would find that David had already made his escape, and Saul would return to the palace to plot his next move.

Conclusion

1. Jonathan was a faithful and godly friend like no other, and God used him in a special way to encourage David through his trials.
   a. It is interesting that God chose to take Jonathan home right at the time when the kingdom was handed to David. It is almost as though God had prepared Jonathan to stand in the gap as a spiritual leader until David was able to take over and then Jonathan was taken out of the way so that David could be the leader God intended.
   b. I am reminded of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the Lord Jesus Christ, but when the Lord came on the scene, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded by Herod.
   c. Sometimes, God needs people who will stand in the gap and hold the line while He raises up a man who will lead His people forward.
2. When sin goes unrebuked and unchallenged it eventually becomes accepted as the norm and even elevated as something honourable. We need to call out sin for what it is and not allow wickedness to be normalised, particularly in the local church.