After the death of Goliath, Jonathon
discovered a deep love for David, not a sensual love, but a deep
friendship.
He even gave him the clothes off his back, his sword, his bow and his girdle.
The bible
gives us tit-bits of information incidentally. Thus we learn that senior men in Israel did
have swords and bows.
Maybe others did too, but because they were not skilled
in making such things, they must have been taken from their enemies.
Saul returned from a glorious victory of the
Philistines to a fanfare of praise, which ascribed 1000’s to the king but tens
of thousands to David.
Saul resented David from then on but also
feared him for he knew that God’s spirit had gone from himself to David and
that God was with the youngster.
Thus he set David over a thousand men and
kept him at arms-length, but probably in the hope that David might be lost in
battle, he offered his daughter as a dowry.
The deal was that David should bring 100 Philistine
foreskins to him in exchange for Michal. He doubled that and won her hand in marriage. He
also won her heart.
Saul
threatened David’s life (Chapter 19)
Saul conspired with his generals to have
David killed and Jonathon heard of it. He told David to hide until he had
conferred with the king.
Saul then promised to not harm David so Jonathon
called him back and he was restored.
But war with the Philistines stirred again
and David fared so well in the battle that when he returned, Saul threw a
javelin at future king.
He fled to his home and Michal fearing for
his life let him out through her window so he could escape. Saul resented her
for that, but she did well.
It is worth knowing that Michal was honorable,
for later she was isolated by David when he danced in the street as the Ark of
the Covenant came to Jerusalem.
David went to stay with Samuel in Naioth,
where he was safe. Saul sent men to find him but they all ended up prophesying
with the prophets instead of dealing with David.
Then Saul took himself to Naioth and the
same thing happened to him. It was a divine intervention that divested Saul of
his armour and his murderous intent.
It reflects what some have testified of
when a crime was thwarted when they proclaimed the name of Jesus and saw the restraining
presence of God’s spirit.
The
threat came to a head (chapter 20)
David confided in Jonathon, that in the coming
new moon festivals he was expected to dine with the king, but not if his life
was threatened.
So Jonathon assured him of his love and
told him to wait in a field. He would shoot three arrows and, based on his
instructions to his fetcher, David would know what to do.
On the second night Saul inquired after
David and when Jonathon said that he had asked for leave to attend a family
function in Bethlehem, Saul exploded.
He was in a murderous rage and threw a
javelin at his son, with threats of killing David.
The next day Jonathon shot his arrows and instead
of saying, “the arrows are near you” he said, “they are beyond you. Go then and
go with haste”.
David wept
on the shoulder of his friend and was overcome with grief, but life would
contrive to send them on different courses.
David fled for the hills. He was no longer
welcome in his homeland.
His refrain is found in Psalm 11: In the LORD I put my trust. How say you to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For the wicked bend their bow to shoot at the upright in heart. On the wicked he will rain snares, fire, brimstone and tempest: this shall be their share of their cup, for the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance sees the upright.
His refrain is found in Psalm 11: In the LORD I put my trust. How say you to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For the wicked bend their bow to shoot at the upright in heart. On the wicked he will rain snares, fire, brimstone and tempest: this shall be their share of their cup, for the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance sees the upright.
David
fled to Gath (Chapter 21)
Initially David went to the cave of Adullam (see picture) and often returned there. He found refuge in the beloved hills where he once shepherded his father's sheep: in the Shephelah.
There many who were in debt or other
trouble turned to David for healing and redemption. It was to lead to an army
in exile.
Along the road to exile David asked the high
priest of Nob, Ahimelech, to give bread to him and his men. It was sanctified bread,
but the priest fed them anyway.
He also gave David the sword of Goliath,
which had been kept there in an ephod. Unfortunately, Doeg the Edomite saw all
that happened.
Then David fled to Gath, the home of
Goliath, but when he realised he had been recognized and was under threat, he
played the madman at the gates of Achish.
David
fled to Moab and Saul killed the priests of Nob (Chapter 22)
What happened next was one of the lowest
points of infamy in Jewish history.
David fled to Moab, his grandmother’s
ancestral home, and secured a place of safety for his family. But the prophet
Gad told him to return to the hills of Judah.
Then Doeg told Saul what Ahimelech had done
and Saul instructed Doeg to slay the priest plus 85 other priests.
David blamed himself for having not dealt
with Doeg while he could, but years later he took revenge for Saul's iniquity by exterminating his entire family.
That was a terrible moment, for it breached
the line that no king may cross, any more than any priest could cross the king’s
threshold.
The separations of power were sacred to God
and definitive to the state of Israel. That violation would witness terrible
retribution. It was the beginning of the end for Saul.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
