David Made Good His Escape

1 Samuel 19:1-24 Key Verse 19:10

“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.”

We all face a number of turning points in our life, when it’s time to go through a big change. Sometimes those changes are hopeful, because they represent the next step into God’s greater will for us: starting college, marriage, starting a ministry. Other times, we are basically forced to leave a situation because we run out of other options. That’s the kind of turning point David faces in today’s passage, when he finally has to flee for his life from Saul’s jealous anger. When we face such a turning point, whether it’s hopeful or scary, we want some assurance of what is the right move, and we want wisdom for following through with that change in the right way. 

Today’s passage can provide some of that wisdom. One key is to have strong principles of faithfulness and godliness behind our choices, and not compromise those. Another key is to have friends who can help make a way for our next step. When we have these, we can have confidence that we are following God’s leading, and assurance that he will be faithful to protect us. Let’s pray to see how we can follow God’s leading and have faith to trust him even when situations turn scary.

     I. Jonathan speaks up on David’s behalf (1-7)

In the last chapter we saw how the Lord gave David great success in everything he did in Saul’s service, even when Saul’s intention for David was not good. As we saw, Saul had begun to be jealous of David’s success and the popular acclaim he was receiving. And Saul was now being tormented by an evil spirit, which prompted him to hurl a spear at David while David was in his house. All this is because, we are told, the Lord had departed from Saul as a result of Saul’s disobedience. I firmly believe that Saul could have been restored to God’s favor, at least spiritually, even at this time, if he had earnestly repented and sought God’s face. But he never did that. And so we see Saul going from bad to worse over the course of these chapters. 

In today’s passage, the first thing we read is Saul committing out loud to do what he had only spontaneously tried to do before. Verse 1 says, “Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David.” Here, Saul has crossed a line from attempting to kill David impulsively, in a fit of rage before, to now giving a premeditated order to kill him. 

Needless to say, David does not deserve this death sentence. But who can stand against a king when he gives such an order? Amazingly, Jonathan, Saul’s own son, goes above and beyond the call of duty to try to help David. As we heard from Msn. Paul’s message, David and Jonathan were the best kind of friends. Jonathan had made a covenant of friendship with David, because they could see that they were one in spirit. So how does Jonathan respond to his father’s order? First, Jonathan goes to David to warn him about Saul’s intention, telling him to go into hiding (2). This in itself is great, because Jonathan is going against Saul’s evil wishes to try to protect his friend. This is the expression of the faithfulness Jonathan pledged to show to David in their covenant. If Jonathan had done only this, it would have been as much help as anyone could have expected to give David in this situation. 

However, Jonathan does even more than this. Jonathan goes to Saul his father and tries to talk him out of killing David. This required great courage from Jonathan. Trying to get Saul to reverse his order to kill David could easily incur his wrath and make Jonathan himself a target. Remember that before, Saul had even threatened to kill Jonathan, his own son, because Jonathan ate some honey. But Jonathan faced this problem head-on and spoke to his father. Look at verses 4 and 5. “Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, ‘Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?’” Here, Jonathan does not try to flatter or deceive his father, but simply presents the facts: that there is no reason for killing David, that he has done nothing wrong to Saul, but only good things that benefited him, and that David brought glory to all Israel when he killed Goliath. 

When Jonathan spoke to his father out of faithfulness to David, God gave Jonathan wisdom. Jonathan’s simple and frank words brought Saul back to his senses, at least for now. Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord that David would not be put to death, and David returns to Saul’s service. Of course, we know that Saul has no ability to keep this oath when he doesn’t have God’s presence in his life. But for now, at least, Jonathan has saved David’s life with this intervention. We all would like to have a friend like Jonathan. We call such a person a “stand-up guy”, because he stands up for his friends. If we want to have a friend like Jonathan, then what do we need to do? We should strive to be a friend like Jonathan, remembering our commitment in Jesus to be faithful to each other as brothers and sisters. 

II. David’s wife helps him escape (8-17)

Look at verse 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.” I’m not sure exactly how much time passed between verses 7 and 8 in this passage, but it had to be a decent amount, since a new stage of the war with the Philistines started and David went out as a captain again. The Lord was continuing to give David success.

We may ask: why David would remain in Saul’s service at all after Saul had attempted to kill him and then conspired against him? I think the answer is that David could see God’s leading on his life and he trusted that God could bless him where he was if he himself was just faithful. Basically, David wanted to serve God’s people in Israel. David’s success in this battle was evidence that God was willing and able to bless him even in a threatening situation under a bad leader. 

But this situation was not one that David could stay in permanently. Finally, events come to a head and it becomes clear that David has to get out. Verses 9 and 10 describe how for a second time, while David was in Saul’s house, playing his lyre to help Saul deal with his demons, Saul was overcome with malice and again threw his spear at David to kill him. It seems the lyre playing is not working anymore. Whether David realized it at the time or not, this was the day he would have to escape. Verse 11 tells us that that night after David went back to his house, Saul sent men to watch it and kill him when he came out in the morning. But David once again got some help, this time from his wife, the daughter of Saul, Michal. Interestingly, David doesn’t seem to be aware that he is in immediate danger. But Michal understands what’s going on and she tells David, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” She helps David climb out the window and escape, and then uses a statue and some goat’s hair to make a kind of dummy in the bed and tells Saul’s men that David is sick. With this very clever ruse, Michal bought David some time to get away before Saul’s men realized he was gone. 

When Saul realizes what Michal has done, what does he say? Look at verse 17. “Saul said to Michal, ‘Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?’” From this we can see how twisted Saul’s thoughts have now become. He calls David, who has done literally nothing wrong to him, “my enemy”, showing how obsessed he has become with blaming everything in his life on David. Also, he is completely self-absorbed, not even considering that Michal is David’s wife and that she loves him. In response to Saul’s accusatory words, Michal says that David threatened to kill her if she didn’t let him escape. In our leaders’ Bible study Friday night, we agreed that it is fine for Michal to lie to Saul in this situation, to protect herself and someone she loves from someone who is fully intent on evil. Michal has also been very brave, risking her father’s wrath to help David. The Lord has now used two children of Saul to help protect David from Saul! 

When can we, as believers, know when it’s time to get out of a bad situation? I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to that. Certainly, we have to get away from anyone who is evil and abusive like Saul. It should not be done lightly, but with sensitivity to God’s leading. We need to get counsel from wise and trustworthy friends and mentors. As part of the family of God, our preference should always be to live in fellowship with God’s people. But no matter what, we can trust that God leads us and even sends people into our life like Michal who can help us see more clearly when it’s time to move. 

III. The Lord protects David from pursuers (18-24)

Now that David is officially a fugitive, he has to figure out where, exactly, he will flee to to escape from Saul’s murderous intent. Look at verse 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.” David went to Samuel, a shepherd of Israel, the one who had anointed him. What a great choice; it shows that David is seeking God even as he is fleeing for his life. We haven’t heard much about Samuel in a while, but we know that as long as he lives he is praying for Israel, and also mourning for Saul. After hearing all that has happened to David, David and Samuel both go to Naioth, which was a place in Ramah. It seems to be where the school of prophets was that Samuel oversaw. 

Despite David’s efforts to hide, soon Saul gets information about where David has fled, and once again sends men to capture David. Who will help David this time? This time, the Lord himself intervenes. Verse 20 says about the men Saul sent, “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.” When Saul’s men came into the vicinity of these servants of God, the spirit of God came upon them and overpowered them so that they stopped trying to capture David and instead joined in the prophesying, spontaneously speaking the words of God. When they were done, they had no more will to pursue David and they went back home. Hopefully they were convicted of their sin. When these men returned to Saul empty-handed, Saul sent more men, and the same thing happened to them, and then a third time and this group of men also prophesied (21). 

What happened last of all? Saul himself went to Naioth and Ramah in pursuit of David, but the Spirit of God came even on him while he was on the way, and he prophesied as he walked all the way to Naioth. The Lord obviously has power over all spirits, and he is able to override the evil spirit possessing Saul with his own spirit, if only for a short time. Then, when Saul arrives at Naioth, he strips naked and lies there all day and night; it’s kind of funny, but it shows that the Lord can humble the high and mighty. It shows that all Saul’s kingly garments and human status symbols are nothing to God. Before God, actually, all of our hearts are exposed; we are all naked before him. God is really sending Saul a message here that he should repent; maybe he did for a short time, going back to his home, though we know he doesn’t change permanently. 

What can we say about this funny way the Lord worked here? The Lord was pleased to intervene in this way to protect David because David had sought refuge under the Lord’s wings, with his people. Such is an environment where the Lord is most likely to show his saving power. It’s like what Jesus said: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20) 

Now David has officially begun his life as a fugitive. You know, given David’s situation and the times he lived in, he actually had another option available to him. He could have killed Saul. David was popular and was a capable military captain with many men loyal to him. In all probability, David would have been successful in staging a coup and would immediately have become King of Israel. Most of the powerful men in David’s time would have done exactly that without even batting an eye. “You try to kill me, I kill you. What’s the problem?” But that’s the thing David refused to do. In this, he has the meek and humble character of Christ; no one can accuse David of seeking selfish ambition. That’s why David is an example to us. David’s choice to be a fugitive rather than kill Saul reflects an attitude that he expressed in one of the Psalms: “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Ps 84:10) 

I personally can’t imagine how hard such a life on the run must be. There have been times in history when Christians have had to flee for their lives from persecution. Most recently, as we know, many Ukrainians have had to flee for their lives from the Russian bombs and missiles. We have heard about the hardships our fellow church members have endured, trying to make it across clogged border crossings, waiting sometimes for days with small children. 

I hope none of us ever have to face such a situation. But as believers, there is one thing we are all called to flee. We Christians are called to flee our sinful desires. 2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Fleeing sinful desires can also bring its own kind of difficulties, as we live a lifestyle that’s different from the pattern of the world. When I was in New Jersey attending second generation missionary Josephine Kim’s wedding after the staff conference, I heard an amazing story about her husband Johan, a very gifted and high-achieving young man. He studied law in Korea and then got a job at a prestigious law firm. Before long, he was invited out to a social event with the whole firm, and the owner of the firm personally offered him a drink. From what I’ve heard of Korean work culture, it’s a very bad idea to refuse such an offer from one’s superior. But Johan refused, giving the drink back and saying it was because he was a Christian. So, what do you think happened? Was Johan fired? Did he have to flee for his life from the Saul-like rage of his boss? Actually, no. The boss respected his decision, his reputation was increased and some of his coworkers said, “Wow, I am a Christian too but you are such a strong Christian.” 

Today we saw how the Lord protected David when he had to flee for his life from the hatred of king Saul. When David kept his heart pure, the Lord used David’s friends and God’s people to keep him safe. The title of this message comes from the NIV translation of verse 10: “That night David made good his escape.” But it is actually the Lord who made David’s escape good. May God bless us to trust God’s leading and always take refuge in him.