Saul’s Reign (I Samuel 8:1-21:9)
1. Saul and Samuel (ch. 8-10)
2. God’s spirit in Saul (ch. 11-13)
3. Jonathan in battle (14:1-23)
4. Jonathan chosen by lots for death (14:24-52)
5. Command to kill all Amelekites (15:1-21)
6. “Obedience is better than sacrifice” (15:22-23)
5'. Samuel kills king of Amelekites (15:24-35)
4'. David chosen by lots as king (16:1-13)
3'. David in battle (16:14-17:58)
2'. God’s spirit in David (ch. 18)
1'. David and Jonathan (19:1-21:9)
There are many similarities and reversals found within the paired units (see below), but we will only deal with one pair today.
Sections 1 and 1'
Samuel’s sons disobey himSaul’s children disobey him
The people reject covenant with God
David makes covenant with Jonathan
Samuel warns the people (“about this time tomorrow”)
Jonathan warns David (“about this time tomorrow”)
Saul has no bread for man of God, who feeds him instead
David has no bread, is given some by man of God
“Is Saul also among the prophets?”
“Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Saul hides from Samuel
Samuel and David hide from Saul
I Samuel 19:1-21:9
A. Jonathan intercedes for David (19:1-10)
B. Michal helps David escape (19:11-17)
C. God helps David escape (19:18-24)
A'. Jonathan intercedes for David (ch. 20)
B'. Ahimelech helps David escape (21:1-9)
B and B' ironically represent idolatry and true worship, respectively.
Section C is the most interesting one in that God himself acts to protect David from Saul. Saul and his messengers are overcome with God's Spirit when they run into a group of roving prophets playing musical instruments while on the way to capture David. The presence of the Spirit in prophets seen through ecstatic behavior (dancing, falling into a trance, etc.) is, as far as I know, only found in two other passages in the Old Testament: chapter 10 of I Samuel where God's spirit empowers Saul right after he was chosen as king, and in II Kings 3:15 when Elisha prophesies only after he is put into some sort of receptive mood or trance through the use of music.
I was once asked what kind of prophecy was given to Saul on these two occasions. My answer was:
No mention is made of any particular words of prophecy that may have been spoken by him or the prophets. The exact nature of the “prophesying” in each case is not nearly as important as what these manifestations of the Spirit tell us concerning the changing relationship between Saul and God. Thus, the spirit of prophecy, which had originally confirmed his call, now blocks his way. In Ch. 10 the Spirit gives Saul strength to carry out his feat of bravery. In Chapter 19 the Spirit works in the reverse way; it makes Saul helpless. He lies on the ground naked for 24 hours.
C.S. Lewis The Four Loves
Eros
Affection (storge)
Charity (agape)
Friendship (philia)
Today's lesson is about friendship, but there are other types of love illustrated in our passage that I want to discuss also, and I will be jumping around a lot from verse to verse in order to treat these topically. But before that, I think it is important to briefly review Saul's continuing descent that occurs in these chapters.
Saul's Downward Spiral
18:7-8 The numbers 1,000 and 10,000 can be literal or both may just mean “many.” Saul takes it as literal and sees it as a slight to himself.
18:9 So Saul eyed David from that day on.
18:11-12 The order of words in Hebrew is “A spear was in Saul's hand,” implying that Saul is a mere appendage to the spear; he becomes a killing machine. David may appear to be rather dense to subject himself to this sort of treatment, but “twice” may include the later occasion in 19:9-10. “Throw” may also be translated “raised” or “brandished” in this passage.
Does this bother you that God took away Saul's free will? People sin and then sin rules them. One commentator noted: “God takes the evil already here...and then so overrules the direction of this evil that...it actually advances God's will.” The same is true with Pharaoh's heart being hardened.
Options: a. demonic possession
b. messenger sent by permission of God (see I Kings 22:20-23 on a lying spirit)
c. spirit of discontent in Saul's heart created by God because of his continued disobedience.
Saul's Downward Spiral (cont.)
Saul appoints David as a commander in his army.
18:15 When Saul saw that he (David) had great success, he was even more afraid of him.
Saul then promises his oldest daughter to David if he fights a few more battles (She should have been given to him earlier after Goliath was killed).
18:17b When that doesn't work, he marries off his oldest daughter to someone else and tells David he will give him his second daughter in marriage if he kills 100 Philistines.
18:25b Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
Sound familiar? (David and Uriah)
18:28-29 But when Saul realized that the LORD was with David, and that Saul's daughter Michal loved him, Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy from that time forward.
18:17-25 These are not the earlier mad ravings of a person out of control; it is a series of premeditated actions. Saul first becomes angry, then anxious, then afraid, and even more afraid. “In Saul's paranoid imagination, David is a threat to him, not vice versa.”
Saul's Downward Spiral (cont.)
19:1 Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David.
Jonathan talks him out of it.
19:6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”
19:9-10 This time there is no ambiguity in the Hebrew; he threw the sword at David.
20:33 Saul threw his spear at him (Jonathan) to strike him.
Probably back to brandishing, not throwing.
The bottom line is that Saul is becoming more and more erratic in his behavior.
Michal (I Samuel 18-19)
18:20 Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David.
18:27 Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.
19:11-14 Some see this portrait of Michal as a veiled criticism of her father since she lies and has household gods. Terephim were usually small statues like the ones that Rachel stole from Laban, but here it is pictured as life-size.
The question is: what kind of love did she have for David? To answer this, we need to jump ahead to II Samuel.
Michal (II Samuel 6)
16 As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
20 Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' maids as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!” Notice the repetition of the words in bold, which stress Michal's similarities to her father.
EROS
Being in love with or without a sexual component
Passionate desire for the other party
Exclusive and jealous
Michal appears to be jealous of the maids, and even more so of David's devotion to God.
Jonathan and Saul
19:4 Jonathan thinks that Saul will repent and start acting better if the error of his ways is just pointed out to him.
20:9 Jonathan said,...“If I knew that it was decided by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell you?”
20:32-34 Up to this point, Jonathan did not want to admit that Saul would actually try to kill David. Notice that Jonathan cares what his father thinks of him.
20:42 “Go in peace” also used by Jesus in Luke 7:42. Implies divine approval. Why didn't Jonathan go with David? Duty to his father. Balancing the demands of different kinds of love.
After Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle, David sings a lament for them.
Lament for Saul and Jonathan (II Samuel 1)
II Samuel 1:22-23 The l:ament says the two were inseparable (except for when Saul pursued David). A true bond of love between Jonathan and Saul, but what kind of love?
AFFECTION (storge)
broad, non-discriminating
humble
familial
We can choose our friends but not our relatives. But there is still a bond between us, even if we have little in common other than our gene pool.
primitive love (even for animals)
Ahimelech and David (I Samuel 21:1-7)
21:1-7 Ahimelech may be naive or doesn't question David too closely because he doesn't want to get between David and Saul (plausible deniability), or he may recognize that David is God's chosen. Saul will kill him for helping David, but his son will serve later as David's priest. This incident is quoted in Mark 2:23 to justify Jesus and his disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath.
21:2 This is not really a lie since the king in this case is, in fact, God.
CHARITY (agape)
Disinterested gift-love
Desire for what is best for the beloved
This brings us to the last of the four loves.
FRIENDSHIP (philia)
Appreciative
Between those who see, or care about, the same truth
C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves
“Without Eros none of us would have been begotten and without Affection none of us would have been reared; but we can live and breed without Friendship.”
It is the most “non-natural and least biological” love
“It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
But some see an erotic love between the two. Oscar Wilde quoted the relationship between David and Jonathan in his trial for homosexuality. There is a recent Catholic gay movement in Europe calling itself “David and Jonathan.” There is a similar situation regarding the relationship of Jesus with the Beloved Disciple. Playwright Christopher Marlowe (contemporary of Shakespeare) quoted it during his heresy trial. A gay-friendly church was started in NY named the Church of the Beloved Disciple. There is a recent movie called Corpus Christi which pictures Jesus and the apostles as gays. Other Greek words for love would be more appropriate in NT if that were the relationship. There is no evidence of any homoerotic relationship in either case, which would have been highly condemned in Jewish society.
True Friends (1 Samuel 18:1)
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
Erotic love is generally not compared to love of our self. What triggered this love? It directly follows David's action in killing Goliath.
Jonathan and David
Section 3. Jonathan in battle (14:1-23)
a. Jonathan and his armor bearer
b. “The LORD has given them into our hands”
b. single combat with Philistines
c. Philistines flee before the army
Section 3'. David in battle (16:14-17:58)
a. Saul and his armor bearer
b. “The LORD will deliver you into my hand”
c. single combat with Philistine
d. Philistines flee before army
There is recognition of a common enemy (Philistines); both are soul mates. C. S. Lewis says that we should picture eros as a face-to-face love while friendship is a side-by-side love.
Lament for Saul and Jonathan (II Samuel 1)
II Samuel 1:24-27 There are two parts to this lament, each ending in “how the mighty have fallen.” In the first part in v. 24, David tells the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul, but he himself weeps over Jonathan in vv. 25-27; and it is here that David most clearly expresses his love for Jonathan.
The word for love is 'hb. It is used for all sorts of love including parental love, true friendship, and partner/helper. And note that love between man and woman is set forth as the normative relationship.
The best way to understand David's words in verse 26 is not that his erotic love for Jonathan is greater than his erotic love for women, but that the type of love (friendship) that he has for Jonathan belongs to an entirely different and higher category than erotic love.
Marks of True Friendship
They declared their commitment (18:3)
It is hard in today's society to openly declare our friendship to another person. The closest I have come to it is to call a person “brother.” One of my best friends that I have known since graduate school and I call each other “brother” when we meet, even though it may be years since we have seen each other. This caused confusion among my kids who at a certain point when they were growing up realized they couldn't figure out how he possibly could be related to me.
They honored the other person (18:4; 20:41).
Jonathan gives his robe and armor to David in 18:4 which represented his own royal status, and David in turn bowed three times to Jonathan to recognize him as the crown prince.
Both had dynamic relationships with God (20:12-16,23).
I have moved a number of times in my life, but I have noticed that the friendships I have made in each place that have lasted over the years are all with committed Christians.
They were willing to take risks on behalf of the other party (20:30-34).
True friendship is revealed in action, not just through words.
They allowed the other person the freedom to be himself (20:41-42).
This is especially seen when David and Jonathan go their own way at the end of Chapter 20.
They encouraged one another (23:16-17).
A while later, David and Jonathan meet again and it is said that Jonathan “strengthened David's hand through the LORD” and told him that he would be the next king.
C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves
On Friendship:
“This love, free from instinct, free from all duties but those which love has freely assumed, almost wholly free from jealousy, and free without qualification from the need to be needed, is eminently spiritual. It is the sort of love one can imagine between angels.”
Different Types of Loves in I Samuel 18-21
Eros – Michal for David
Affection – Jonathan for Saul
Charity – Ahimelech for David
Friendship – between David and Jonathan
But there is one more category of love present in these chapters.
Different Types of Loves:
hesed
“If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the LORD; but if I die, never cut off your faithful love from my house...” I Samuel 20:14-15
“The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” II Samuel 9:3
He finds Jonathan's lame son Meribaal (or Mephibosheth), lets him eat at David's own table, and gives him all of Saul's property.
hesed – faithfulness, steadfast love
lovingkindness (KJV)
“It is commonly used of the attitudes and behavior of humans toward one another, but more frequently (ratio 3:1) describes the disposition and beneficent actions of God toward the faithful, Israel his people, and humanity in general.
I Sam. 20:14 and II Sam. 9:3 represent an intersection between these two planes of human and divine hesed.”
New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis
So friendship at its best has the capability of approaching the sort of faithful love that God shows to us, and it is this type of friendship that we should aspire to have with others.
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