1 Samuel Week 19

May 12, 2026

All Scripture are in NIV format unless otherwise noted.

1 Samuel 19:7

“7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.”

Jonathan then brings David back to Saul and things go back to normal, for the time being. David is leading large regiments and he is still playing the lyre for Saul. All is well, for now, but Jonathan did what was right, even in defying the king, which could have cost him his life.

1 Samuel 19:8

“8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.”

Here we see yet another war against the Philistines, and here goes David, not just beating them, he destroys them, and so much so, they are running to get away from the Israelite army. Another victory the Lord gave David who was once again loyal to the king, even after he tried to kill him.

1 Samuel 19:9-10

“9 But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.”

Here comes this evil spirit once again and what does the spirit push Saul to do? Exactly what happened before. If you remember what happened last time, Saul tried to pin David to the wall twice with his spear, this time we see Saul try to kill David with the spear once this time. Notice this though, David was already playing the lyre. Why do you think the evil spirit was not calmed? To me this is simple, Saul’s heart was growing harder and harder against David and the more that happened, the more the spirit tightened its grip on Saul. Listen to me, this is important, the more we succumb to our emotions, our evil desires, and selfish wants, we give demons more and more power, just like Saul did. When that happens, in the end, there will be more and more of a presence of the demonic forces in our lives. The fruit of our lives will become more evil than good, just like we have seen this progression with Saul. We do see, however, that David does escape, all because of the protection of God on His life.

1 Samuel 19:11-13

“11 Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.”

David goes home and Michal his wife is there and Saul sent men to his house to kill him and his wife warns him, look, if you do not leave, you will die tomorrow. Now, remember, Michal is the king’s daughter, so this family thing is a big deal, first Jonathan, and now Michal. They have pretty much betrayed their father, the king. Michal lowers David down through a window, since the house was being watched and she helped David escape the plans of Saul, but she does even more than that. She takes some sort of an idol, which in the Hebrew is a physical statue, and she puts it in the bed to deceive Saul and his armies. She even goes a step further and puts hair and a garment on it to try to make it look real. She really went overboard to make this look real even though she had to know the armies would find out, they were there to kill him.

1 Samuel 19:14-16

“14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.” 15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.” 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair.”

Saul sends his men in to kill David and Michal lies to them and says David is ill, but Saul commands the men to go to his bed, and to bring him to Saul so he can kill him, but when they get there, what do they find? They find a statue of some sort that has been dressed and made to look like David.

1 Samuel 19:17

“17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?” Michal told him, “He said to me, ‘Let me get away. Why should I kill you?’”

Michal lies to Saul and says David told her to let him escape or he may kill her, which we know not to be true, but Michal was trying to possibly protect both of them, but from what I see, she was protecting herself more than David.

1 Samuel 19:18-20

“18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.”

So, David flees and he runs to Samuel, which is a good place to run knowing how close Samuel was to God. We see that Samuel and David go to Naioth and somehow Saul finds out about it, and he once again sends his armies there to kill David. Something awesome happens though, when the men get there, they run into a group of prophets that were prophesying, and Saul’s men end up prophesying with the prophets. This is a tremendous spiritual event, and you wonder what these men were prophesying. Was it something about them pursuing David, or something about if they try to hurt David, or maybe how Saul was going to lose his kingdom? Interesting thoughts to think about.

1 Samuel 19:21-22

“21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said.”

Saul gets word of what happened to his men, he then sends a second regiment and they also start prophesying. Saul hears about that and he sends men yet a third time, and they start prophesying as well. You’d think Saul would take a hint by this time, but nope, he decides he is going to go and find out exactly what is happening. This shows how badly he has hatred in his heart; he was willing to do anything to see David dead. I also feel there may be a curiosity for Saul to see what is going on with these men prophesying and why it is happening, I know I would be curious.

1 Samuel 19:23-24

“23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

Saul arrives, and guess what? Saul starts prophesying as well, and there is something that is so significant here, while he was prophesying, he was led to strip, and there is such significance in that. This is a show of God’s humiliation of the king. This is showing everybody that the kingship of Saul was stripped of him and all of his authority was being removed as well. If you truly think about this, this whole event is based on Saul and David, it appears this stripping is the transfer for the kingdom from Saul to David. Now, it has not literally happened yet, but remember, Saul was prophesying with the other men, and to me, this is a prophesy of what was coming even though it would happen later. As we get further into this, we will see Saul lose everything and David is given everything. This prophesy that Saul is giving will come to fruition.

1 Samuel 20:1-2

“1 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?” 2 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”

Even though Saul is prophesying, David knows why he is there and he again goes to Jonathan, if you remember, last time this happened Jonathan approached his father about David, and Saul then swore David will not die, and as I told you, that decision would not last long. So, David goes back to Jonathan and asks him what he had done to deserve death, and Jonathan is obviously surprised, and Jonathan then makes a statement that his father never does anything without talking to his son first. Let me tell you, Saul was not stupid, he already saw how he gave an order to Jonathan to kill David, and when he approached his father, and fixed things the first time, he brought David to him. Saul knew that Jonathan had David hidden and they were working together. Saul also saw how close David and Jonathan were and how Jonathan defied Saul when it came to David, so in that, in this venture to kill David, he excluded Jonathan, and he had every right to do so. Jonathan seems quite surprised though, but going against the king, and your father, will cause this to happen, right or wrong.

1 Samuel 20:3-4

“3 But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.” 4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

David even admits here that Jonathan and David have a close relationship, and David says that Saul did not want to grieve Jonathan, which could be true, or Saul just wanted to try and get to David before Jonathan could protect him again, but either way, David tells Jonathan I am knocking on death’s door for sure. Jonathan then tells David, look, whatever you want me to do, I will do it. I have said this before, I believe Jonathan, and Saul, knew that David would take over Saul’s position as king someday.

1 Samuel 20:5-8

“5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 8 As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

David has a plan, he tells Jonathan he is supposed to dine with the king, but is going to go and hide and he needs Jonathan to find out what is in his father’s heart for real. So, he tells Jonathan to go and lie to his father, which is very wrong, just let Saul know, if he misses me at all, I am going to go home and they are going to have an annual sacrifice within his clan. David says, you will then know by his response what his heart towards me truly is. David then makes this profound statement in defending his innocence, he says Jonathan, we have a covenant that we have with the Spirit of God, so if there is anything in me that is wrong, you go ahead and kill me yourself. I must say, it takes a confident man, and one who lives by integrity, to make a statement like that. But he does, that is how sure he has done nothing wrong to the king. He says, you don’t even need to give me to your father. If I have done these things, you kill me, and show your devotion to your father.

1 Samuel 20:9

“9 Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”

Jonathan is like there is no way I will kill you, I am on your side and if my father is going to try to kill you, I would have told you!

 1 Samuel 20:10-11

“10 David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 11 “Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So, they went there together.”

David is like, okay, we have a plan, but how are you going to let me know how your dad responds, there has to be a way to get that information to me, so I know what I have to do next. So, they go to the field where David will be hiding, they are going to game plan.

1 Samuel 20:12-15

“12 Then Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13 But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

So, Jonathan swears that he will find out what his father feels about David, he swears by it, and goes on to say if his father is okay and not trying to kill you, I will send somebody out to let you know that everything is fine, and you can return to serving Saul, the king. However, if Saul intends to try to kill you, I will let you know and I will send you away, I will give you freedom, and it will be peacefully, totally opposite of what Saul wants to do. This again would be rebellion against his father. There is an interesting part here though which truly leads us to believe that Jonathan knew that David would be king. Jonathan asks David to make sure he makes a pact that Jonathan is not held responsible with the actions of his father leading to death. If that is not enough, Jonathan asks David to show favor to the family line as well, show favor to his living relatives even when the Lord cuts off all of his enemies. Listen, say what you want but this statement shows clearly that he knows David would be king, and not only that, he knew Saul was not going to kill him and he knew David would rule with victory. Saul saw what David was doing serving his father and he knew it was from God and that David would rule with the same results. A lot said here that was prophetic with it being a direct prophecy, you know what I mean?

1 Samuel 20:16-17

“16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.”

So, after all of that conversation, and that petition that Jonathan requested, they both made a covenant to carry out what they both talked about. They truly were committed friends, we all need to have friends like this, they are rare and worth cherishing!

1 Samuel 20:18-23

“18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”

So, Jonathan already has a game plan figured out and he tells David what he is going to do. At the dinner he is supposed to be at, he will not show up but Jonathan will. He says the day after that, go to the place where the stone of Ezel is, the place where you hid when my father started this stuff the first time, and I will come out there and I will shoot three arrows. Then I am going to send a boy to get the arrows, and if I say the arrows are on the side of you, you are safe and you can come out and be restored back to the service you have to king Saul. BUT, if I shoot the arrows beyond you, you will need to leave because my father is trying to kill you, so you can go in peace as we agreed upon. He also says, remember the deal we made about my life, and my family’s lives. Make sure to keep that agreement as well, he just threw that reminder in there.

1 Samuel 20:24-27

“27 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.” 27 But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

So, David goes to the field and stays there for the next two days. The king goes into the feast, and all the people come in, and Jonathan sits across from his father, Saul sees that David was not there, and he even wonders why he is not there. He does just figure to himself that David must have been unclean. If David was unclean, he would have to go through the process of becoming clean and the king figured he was doing that and would be there the next night as protocol would dictate. The second day David does not show up once again and his seat was empty and this time Saul makes a comment to his son Jonathan, asking where David is, he has missed two days of the feast. Ever wonder why he addressed Jonathan specifically and not everybody at the table? Saul knew the relationship they had, and he knew something was up, it had happened before and Saul knew something was happening again, he did not trust Jonathan where David was concerned, we will see that.

1 Samuel 20:28-29

“28 Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

Jonathan responds to his father, lies to his father, and he tells him David asked permission to go home to his family for the annual sacrifice with his brothers, family, and that Jonathan had given him permission to go.

1 Samuel 20:30-31

“30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”

As soon as he hears that his dad gets furious and calls out Jonathan. Saul knew what was going on, he knew that he was on David’s side and he would defy the king for David. He says that you have turned on your family and you shame the woman who bore you, your mother. He hits him with a low blow there because Jonathan knew that his father was wrong, and to bring shame on his mother would be an act of doing the wrong thing. Listen, we must always obey God over everyone else! Yes, we always respect our parents and authority, but the Word of God, the plans and purposes of God, they will always override anything and anybody else! We must make sure it is God though, and not our own desires. Saul then commands for David to be brought to him so he can be terminated.

1 Samuel 20:32-34

“32 Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” Jonathan asked his father. 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast, he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.”

Jonathan then confronts his father, and remember, this is at a dinner table, this is addressing the king, not his father, not with this protocol. When he confronts him, Saul throws his spear at Jonathan just like he had done with David, as an attempt to kill him. Now, I know people will say the evil spirit came upon him and made him do it, I do not believe an evil spirit can make you do things, they can mess with your mind and understanding, but Saul threw that spear of his own free will. Also remember here, Saul tried to kill his very own son, this is what jealousy and opening doors for demonic influence can lead you to do, and that was Saul’s action, but God protected him and like David, the spear missed and Jonathan survived. Jonathan then gets up from the table, probably in a tremendous amount of disbelief that his dad tried to kill him, and he left and he did not eat or partake in any of the meals, not because of what his dad did to him, but the way he treated David, the future king. I told you before all of this anger and attempted murder is all birthed in jealousy, and we saw that in both situations.