We’ve witnessed King Saul’s character decline over the last chapters of 1 Samuel. Now, we see another aspect of his downfall. He plans to give his daughter to David as a wife, hoping David will be killed in battle against the Philistines.
Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law” (1 Samuel 18:20-21).
It was traditional for a groom to give a gift to his father-in-law. David knew he couldn’t afford something worthy of marrying a king’s daughter, but Saul had another idea.
Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.'” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines (1 Samuel 18:25).
Let’s remember that David was empowered by the Holy Spirit and guided by God when he responded to the king’s desire for the death of a hundred Philistines. The results were far different from what Saul expected.
David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife (1 Samuel 18:27).
Later in David’s life, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up by having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. Unlike Saul, who failed to have his enemy killed in this manner, David succeeded with Uriah.
When David faced his sin, he confessed and repented. Psalm 51 is David’s public confession made in the temple.
In contrast, Saul did not repent and grew further from both David and God as he sought revenge.
But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually (1 Samuel 18:28).
A Conflicted Relationship
The story of the royal family and their relationship with David could be the plot of a TV series. On one hand, you have David’s wife, Saul’s daughter, who loves and protects him. The same goes for Saul’s son, Jonathan.
In one instance, Jonathan stands up for David in the field, and Saul listens to his son. He realizes that killing David out of revenge would be a sin because David is innocent.
And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.
For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” (1 Samuel 19:4-5).
The Kansas City Police Department updates the homicide rate daily on their website. As of today, there have been 128 murders in our city. These numbers represent 128 innocent lives lost.
I’ve had the sad duty of officiating funerals for murder victims. The grief experienced by mothers, brothers, sisters, and other family members is immense when a life is taken violently.
Those are the statistics for one city. Imagine the grief God feels seeing innocent bloodshed in wars between Russia and Ukraine, in the Middle East, and Sudan. And let’s not forget countries like Haiti and other similar nations.
Even though Saul listened to his son Jonathan, he still wanted to take David’s life. While David played the harp to soothe Saul, Saul tried to kill him with a spear again. By God’s providence, David escaped once more.
Reflections
The lives of the royal family and David show us different ways to respond to events in our own lives.
Saul is a negative example. His envy, greed, and fear drive him to misuse his power and even attempt to take another person’s life. He doesn’t care who he hurts, even if it’s his own daughter.
In contrast, David, Jonathan, and Michal act responsibly. They care for each other and demonstrate their concern through their actions.
One of the great messages of the Bible is that God wants all to repent. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies.
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).
When we pray for those who have hurt us, we can ask God to help them to see their errors, and turn to God.
Think about another Saul, whose name changed to Paul after his encounter on the Damascus road. He went from having murderous intent to becoming a devoted follower of Jesus.
Let’s pray for those we don’t like or consider our enemies, and ask God to give them the gift of repentance.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 