Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 18

Verses 1-30

Chapter 18

Now when it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan [Saul's son was just sort of] knit with the soul of David, Jonathan loved him as himself ( 1 Samuel 18:1 ).

Actually there became a bond between Saul's son Jonathan and David. They were really sort of two of a kind. They were both of them, very adventuresome. They were both of them very daring. Both of them with great confidence in God, great love for the Lord.

It was Jonathan, you remember last week we were studying about him. When they were facing the Philistines, he was the one that woke up his armourbearer and said, "Hey, I've been thinking this morning, it doesn't make any difference to God if we have a whole army or just ourselves. If God wants to deliver the Philistines into the hands of Israel today, He can do it with just two of us. He doesn't need the whole army. Let's go over this morning, and see if God wants to deliver the Philistines into the hands of Israel."

So he and his armourbearer took on the whole army of the Philistines. "Just find out if God wants to deliver, because God's big enough if He wants to deliver them. He doesn't need a whole army, He only needs two." God delivered the Philistines into the hand of Jonathan and his armourbearer that day. So Jonathan and David were really sort of two of a kind, so they just immediately hit it off. They just, you know, that kind of a thing where a bond was formed, a deep bond was formed between these two fellows Jonathan and David.

Now Saul sort of kept David. I mean he just also at this point had a very great admiration and liking for this brave, daring young kid. So he wouldn't let him go home. He's gonna keep him now there with the army.

And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because they loved each other so deeply. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him, and gave it to David, and his garments, and his sword, and his bow, and his girdle. [He just gave David, "Hey here, take my sword, my bow, my..." you know, he just tried to show his expression of love towards David.] And so David went with Saul wherever Saul would go, and David behaved himself very wisely: so Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of the people ( 1 Samuel 18:3-5 ),

Though he was just a very young fellow, he was set over a part of the army and these guys respected him so much, of course God's deliverance of the Philistine in his hand, that they just accepted him, but then trouble began to arise.

Because as they would come into a village after David had returned from the slaughter of the Philistine that the women came out of all of the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with their tabrets, and with joy, and with instruments of music. [And the women would sing back and forth one to another.] And one group would sing, Saul hath slain his thousands ( 1 Samuel 18:6-7 ),

Now he was used to this. The women had started this when Saul had come back from victory. They'd come out and they'd sing with their tambourines, and they'd go through their dances singing, "Saul has killed his thousands." Now in this particular case they started off, and old Saul is just, "All right that's me folks. Here I am." And then a second company of women sort of answered,

and David his tens of thousands ( 1 Samuel 18:7 ).

Well to a fellow that was having a problem with pride, this was a little much. Saul became extremely jealous of David and said,

what does he want more than this the kingdom ( 1 Samuel 18:8 )?

Of course, he was not aware of the fact that God had chosen David to be the king, and that God had anointed David to be king over Israel. So it is interesting that immediately he began to suspicion the fact that the kingdom was in jeopardy. "What does he want more than this, the kingdom?"

And Saul was very angry, and he said, Look they've ascribed to me thousands, but to David, tens of thousands. So from that day onward Saul was watching David very carefully. And it came to pass on the next day, that an evil spirit came upon Saul, [One of these bad ill-tempered days for him.] and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in his hand. [And he thought I'll thrust that kid through and I'll pin him to the wall.] So he threw the javelin at David, and David nimbly dodged the thing, but twice that day he tried to ram the javelin through David, and David dodged it both times. But David figured, It's time for me to get out of here. And so he departed. And so Saul then made him a captain over the thousand; and he went out into the field. But David behaved himself very wisely; and the Lord was with him. So Saul began to get a little afraid of David when he saw how wisely he kept himself, and how he did always the right thing. But Israel and Judah loved David, [because he was there among them,] and he would go in and out before them. So Saul said, Here David is Merab, my oldest daughter [And of course, "I promised my daughter to anyone who would kill the Philistine."] so he said, She can be your wife: but be valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, Let the Philistines kill him and I won't have to lay my hand on him. [He figured if he'd send him out against the Philistines they'd kill him, and he wouldn't have to kill him himself.] But David to Saul said, [Hey] who am I, what is my life? what is my father's family in Israel, that I should be a son in law to the king? And it came to pass when the time was supposed to be that Merab was suppose to be given to David as a wife, [Saul switcherooed and gave her to somebody else, pulled a dirty one on David, and gave her to someone else.] Now Saul had another daughter Michal actually loved David very much: and when they told Saul, ["Hey Michal is really in love with David."] Saul said, [That's all right,] I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him ( 1 Samuel 18:8-21 ),

So I don't know what kind of a daughter she was. I don't know but he figured she'd be a snare to David and give him problems, which she did in time.

and that the hands of the Philistines will be against him. So Saul said to David, You're gonna be my son in law today. [And David said, Who am I? I'm a poor man, my family's-I don't have any dowry to give. So Saul's servants spake the words in the ears of David, and they said, Saul wants you to be his son-in-law, he wants you to marry his daughter Michal.] And David said, [Hey, you guys] think it's just a light thing to be a king's son in law, I'm a poor man, and lightly esteemed? So they came back and they told Saul, [He doesn't want to do it. He doesn't feel that he should, he doesn't have a dowry or anything else.] So Saul said, Go back and tell him that I really don't want any dowry of money ( 1 Samuel 18:21-25 ),

He set up a dowry regarding the Philistines. David went out and gave him double dowry. So Saul then of course was sort of shocked and surprised. He figured David would get wiped out in going out against the Philistines.

But he gave then his daughter Michal to David as a wife ( 1 Samuel 18:27 ). "