David in Saul’s House

But, true to form, David went out and acquired 200 Philistine foreskins instead! This is terrible bloody business! It seems absolutely horrific. Although the text describes the event, it does not prescribe the event for you and for me. The action works and communicates in an honor-shame culture: David honored Saul above and beyond what Saul deserved. That is the point we are to take from David’s actions.

Saul, however, is not done with his murderous ways. In chapter 19 Saul speaks to his family and servants and orders them to kill David. Fourth time’s the charm? From that point onward, David is in Saul’s house, but David is the target for Saul’s plots on his life. Saul is jealous and out of control, a man who has lost his sanity and his grip on life.

The reason? He “realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David’s enemy from then on” (1 Sam 18:28-29). Michal was committed to, and loved, the coming messiah of Israel. It is telling that the stories of Michal and Jonathan open and close 1 Samuel 18 and 20. They serve as a kind of frame that contrasts with Saul’s hatred, loathing, and fear of David.

After the last attempt on his life, the young David fled from Saul’s household to Ramah and stayed with Samuel. He recounted to Samuel all that Saul had done. While he was there, Jonathan vowed to protect him against his father’s ravings. Jonathan had entered into a covenant with David over and against his father (18:3-4), and now in 20:16-17 Jonathan renews that covenant with David based on the new wave of attacks from Saul. Jonathan will not betray David but will remain true to him. He swears loyalty to David, tellingly, and the Lord is his witness (20:12-15). Jonathan defied his father’s plans to murder David and instead helps him because of his commitment to the anointed one of God.

Saul’s own family rebels against his plans to kill David. This should tell us something important: Saul does not have the support of the Lord, his family, or his people. This manifests itself in a few ways:

That God sent an “evil spirit” to Saul deserves mention. Why does God do this? It is important, as we said in the introduction, to see what the narrative shows and says (see pp. 7–8). The first mention of the evil spirit coming upon Saul is in the context of this summary statement: “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul” (18:12). God has said in Samuel’s prophetic announcement that the kingdom is ripped from Saul and given to David, a king after God’s heart (13:14; 15:22-29). The text now shows this reality of God’s rejection of Saul by means of the evil spirit He sends on Saul. Each of these instances reveals that God has left Saul and was “with” David. This reality leads to radical fear, jealousy, and hatred of God’s anointed man after His own heart.

We can learn lessons from Saul’s jealous heart.

Saul’s kingdom was over; David’s kingdom was on the rise. Jonathan knew this and committed to David. So did Michal. They got in on what God was doing. This meant Jonathan would never be king. But instead of resenting David over God’s anointing, Jonathan embraced God’s plan. He killed jealousy by committing to God’s plan for Israel. Jonathan was more interested in the Lord’s kingdom over and above his own kingdom! Saul was not. He was more interested in his plan and holding onto his power than embracing the Lord’s plan and divine power. Whenever anyone chooses self over the Savior, bad things happen!

Saul’s greatest love was himself, not Yahweh, the God of Israel. If we are jealous, we put more weight on ourselves and our wants, needs, and desires than the weight of God’s desires for us. For example, if a pastor reads this commentary, we must ask: If revival broke out in the place where you minister, would you rejoice? But what if God broke loose in another church, in another denomination, and exponential salvation/baptism/growth occurred in all the other churches but not your church. Would you be jealous? Would you resent the anointing of God and the salvation of the lost in other churches, or would you embrace God’s work and rejoice in God’s plan? You see, jealousy reveals our deepest loves. If we love self rather than God and His plan, we are in deep trouble.

Notice that Saul is constantly “afraid” of David. The text mention’s Saul’s fear of David at numerous places (18:12,15,29). Jealousy and fear go hand in hand. Saul was afraid of David and what he meant: others loved David, David would be king, David would be great, and God anointed him. But this meant Saul was set in the background rather than the foreground, and he feared losing power. As a result, he was jealous and resentful of this young man.

Life does not have to be filled with fear and jealousy! What kills fear and jealousy in life? Nothing other than perfect love found in Jesus Christ, found in the gospel. At the Summit Church, we have committed to embrace these key realities of the gospel:

This is an adaptation of the “Gospel Prayer” put forth and taught by J. D. over the course of many years (Greear, Gospel, esp. 45–190). Only the power of the gospel kills fear and jealousy in life. We see that Jonathan knew the power of the gospel. Jonathan knew he was deeply loved by God and cared for, regardless of whether he was king. Jonathan knew the Lord was his everlasting joy. As God had been gracious to him and his family, he was gracious to David. Jonathan measured compassion by God’s overwhelming kindness.

If we experience debilitating jealousy, then we must learn to embrace the gospel. You can be confident in who you are because in Christ you are freed to be fully yourself, not someone else. Jonathan knew he would not be king, but he still embraced who God had made him to be. The gospel frees us. We learn that our identity is not bound up in our profession or what others say about us. Our identity is found in what Christ has called us through His gospel: deeply loved, forgiven from sin by His blood on the cross, valued, and set on His purposes. Only the power of the gospel will kill jealousy in life.

So, if you are allowing the seeds of jealousy to sprout into a terrible jungle of sin, one way you can kill jealousy is to pray to Jesus His powerful gospel, and allow Jesus to remind you of His love, His identity, His purpose for you, and His plan. A good start would be to pray the gospel prayer mentioned above.