Day 128 – Saul’s Insecurity

• Now that the battle against Goliath and the army behind him, David is taken into Saul’s service on a permanent basis. What do the opening words of the passage in 1 Samuel 18 say about the relationship between Saul and David at this early point?
• Jonathan and David very quickly become close friends. Why do you think this might have been, and what evidence can you see to show you what Jonathan thought of David?
• It doesn’t take long until Saul’s view of David starts to change. What happened in 1 Samuel 18:6-9? What was Saul clearly struggling with? What did Saul’s emotions lead him to attempt?
• Envy is a powerful and destructive emotion. Have you ever been jealous when someone else was praised more highly than you? How do you usually react when these things happen?
• What other sin can you see in Saul’s heart? Verses 11, 12, 17, 25, 28 and 29 will help give you a picture of how Saul’s heart and actions affect his relationship with David. Write some down in your journal.
• David escapes being married to Saul’s first daughter, Merab, in verse 17 onwards. Later it describes David’s relationship with another of Saul’s daughters, Michal. Michal loved David, and you may be surprised to read that this pleased Saul, in 1 Samuel 18:20. His pleasure did not come from his happiness that his daughter had found a husband though. What does verse 21 go on to add?
• David initially thought he could never be the son-in-law to a king as his family were too poor. He needed to find a bride-price. A bride-price was usually an amount of money paid to the bride’s family to seal the engagement, but David had none. Saul gave another option to David instead, which we read about in 1 Samuel 18:25. What was it? What did Saul hope would happen to David as he collected this unusual bounty? Do you think Saul really cared about receiving the foreskins of his enemies?
• What is Saul’s opinion of David by the end of the chapter?
• How do the passages in Proverbs and James help you understand the destructive nature of envy? You’ve seen how it affected Saul. Has it affected you or other people you know?
• Instead of envy and jealousy, what should we strive to fill our hearts with? Galatians 5:22-23 will help you.

I enjoy a good soap from time to time, and the events of 1 Samuel 18 would challenge even the best plot writers. We start with Saul loving David and David’s great relationship with Saul’s son Jonathan. Saul is gaining success with everything David did.

We then get a close up of Saul taken captive by envy and jealousy, with his attempt on David’s life showing his inability to handle his anger.

The drama is turned up a notch as we find out that David rejects Merab but accepts the advances of Michal, and the evil intentions of the king to have his would-be son-in-law killed on the battlefield (which, very interestingly, mirrors similarly something David will do himself when he lusts after the enchanting Bathsheba). By the end of the chapter, Saul desperately fears the young challenger to the throne.

Envy and jealousy can snare even the most content of people. The king had popularity amongst the people and success in battle, especially with David. He had everything he might want at his fingertips. But as we’ve read, David’s popularity outgrew his own, and he couldn’t handle it.

We’ll have struggles like that too, where we forget our blessings and focus on the things that others have more of, or do better. Pray today for a life of contentment, encouraging and being thankful for the good things your friends have, rather than letting them frustrate you.

You’ll be the one who’ll benefit the most from such an attitude, I can assure you!