Saul Tries to Kill David - (1 Samuel 18:1-20:42)

David’s victory over Goliath changed his position in Israel almost overnight. He entered the Valley of Elah as an unknown shepherd carrying a staff, a sling, and five stones. He left the battlefield as the young man everyone wanted to know. Israel’s soldiers celebrated him, Saul brought him into royal service, and Jonathan formed a loyal friendship with him. At the same time, David’s success awakened a fierce jealousy in Saul that would shape the next several chapters of 1 Samuel.

1 Samuel 18 begins with Jonathan responding to David’s faith and courage. Scripture says, “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:1). Jonathan was Saul’s son and the natural heir to Israel’s throne, but he didn’t treat David as a rival. He recognized something honorable in David and entered into a covenant with him.

Jonathan confirmed this covenant by giving David his robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt. These gifts were more than expressions of generosity. They were signs of Jonathan’s loyalty and may have demonstrated his willingness to recognize David’s God-given calling. Jonathan could’ve protected his own position, but he chose to stand beside the man God was raising up.

Saul responded very differently. At first, David’s success pleased him. David went wherever Saul sent him, behaved wisely, and earned the respect of Israel’s soldiers and citizens. Everything seemed to be going well until the women of Israel came out to celebrate the victory over the Philistines.

They sang, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Their song wasn’t necessarily intended as an insult to Saul. It was a poetic celebration of Israel’s victory. Saul, however, heard it as a threat.

1 Samuel 18:8–9 explains, “And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?’ And Saul eyed David from that day on.”

Jealousy changed the way Saul saw David. David hadn’t betrayed him, attacked him, or attempted to take the throne. He served Saul faithfully and fought Israel’s enemies. Still, Saul began interpreting everything David did through the suspicion that David wanted his kingdom.

Jealousy can distort our perception of other people. Their success starts to feel like our failure. Their opportunities seem like threats to our security. Instead of thanking God for how He’s working through them, we begin looking for reasons to criticize them, diminish them, or keep them from advancing.

Saul’s jealousy soon became violent. While David played the lyre for him, Saul held a spear in his hand. Saul threw the spear and thought, “I will pin David to the wall” (1 Samuel 18:11). David escaped, but this wouldn’t be Saul’s final attempt to kill him.

The real source of Saul’s fear is revealed in the next verse: “Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 18:12). Saul could see God’s blessing on David. David’s faithfulness reminded Saul of what he had lost through repeated disobedience.

Saul removed David from his immediate presence and appointed him as a commander. He may have hoped that combat would accomplish what his spear had failed to do. Instead, David continued to succeed. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that David behaved wisely because God was with him.

“When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them” (1 Samuel 18:15–16).

Saul then offered his daughter Merab to David in marriage if David would continue fighting the Philistines. His words sounded generous, but his motives were deadly. Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him” (1 Samuel 18:17).

When that plan failed, Saul learned that his daughter Michal loved David. He offered Michal to David and required a dangerous bride-price involving one hundred Philistines. Saul again hoped David would die in battle. David returned victorious after killing twice the required number, and Michal became his wife.

Every plan Saul designed against David only gave David another opportunity to succeed. Saul’s schemes couldn’t overturn God’s purpose. 1 Samuel 18 concludes, “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 18:28–29).

By 1 Samuel 19, Saul was no longer hiding his intention. He ordered Jonathan and his servants to kill David. Jonathan warned David and then spoke to his father on David’s behalf. He reminded Saul that David had served him faithfully, risked his life against Goliath, and brought a great victory to Israel.

Jonathan asked, “Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” (1 Samuel 19:5). Saul listened and swore that David wouldn’t be killed. For a brief time, David returned to his former position.

Saul’s promise didn’t last. After David won another victory over the Philistines, Saul again attempted to pin him to the wall with a spear. David escaped and returned home, but Saul sent men to watch his house and kill him in the morning.

Michal helped David escape through a window and placed an idol in the bed as a decoy to make it appear that he was laying there sick. David fled to Samuel at Ramah. When Saul sent men to arrest him, God’s Spirit came upon them and prevented them from completing their mission. Saul sent additional groups, but the same thing happened. Finally, Saul went himself, and God’s Spirit overpowered him as well.

This scene demonstrates that in the end, David’s safety didn’t depend on his own cleverness. Jonathan warned him, Michal helped him, and Samuel received him, but God remained his ultimate protector. Saul commanded soldiers and possessed the authority of the throne, but he couldn’t reach beyond God’s sovereign hand.

David then returned to Jonathan and asked why Saul wanted him dead. Jonathan found the situation difficult to believe because Saul usually told him what he planned to do. David understood that Saul might conceal his intentions from Jonathan because he knew about their friendship.

David said, “Truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). David had been anointed by Samuel, but he wasn’t living in a palace. He was running for his life. God’s promises were certain, but the path toward their fulfillment included danger, rejection, and sorrow.

Jonathan and David arranged a test. David would be absent from Saul’s table during the new moon feast. Jonathan would observe Saul’s response and learn whether his father still intended to kill David. If Saul reacted peacefully, David might return. If Saul became angry, Jonathan would know David remained in danger.

Before carrying out their plan, Jonathan renewed his covenant with David. He asked David to show steadfast love to him and his family. Jonathan understood that David might one day become king, but he wasn’t attempting to stop God’s plan. He wanted to remain faithful to David and asked David to remember his household when he received the kingdom.

Saul initially said nothing when David’s place remained empty. On the second day, however, he demanded an explanation. Jonathan said David had asked permission to attend a family sacrifice in Bethlehem. Saul became furious.

He insulted Jonathan and declared, “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established” (1 Samuel 20:31). Saul believed David’s death was necessary to secure Jonathan’s future. Jonathan understood that obedience to God was more important than preserving his own claim to the throne.

Jonathan again asked what David had done to deserve death. Saul responded by throwing his spear at his own son. At that moment, Jonathan knew Saul was fully determined to kill David.

The next morning, Jonathan went to the field where David was hiding. He used the prearranged signal involving arrows to warn David that he needed to flee. After Jonathan sent his young servant away, David came out of hiding. The two friends wept together, knowing their lives were moving in different directions.

Jonathan told David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever’” (1 Samuel 20:42). David departed, and Jonathan returned to the city.

Their friendship offers a powerful contrast to Saul’s jealousy. Saul saw David’s calling and tried to destroy him. Jonathan saw David’s calling and supported him. Saul held tightly to power God had already declared he would lose. Jonathan opened his hands and trusted God with his future.

Looking Toward Jesus

Jonathan’s example points us toward the humility of Jesus Christ. Jonathan was a prince who laid aside the symbols of his position to honor David. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who willingly humbled Himself for our salvation. Unlike Jonathan, Jesus didn’t simply risk losing a throne. He left the glory of heaven, took the form of a servant, and gave His life for sinners. 

David’s experience also points forward to Jesus. David was God’s anointed king, but he was rejected by the king then occupying Israel’s throne. He served faithfully, defeated Israel’s enemy, and committed no crime against Saul. Even so, Saul treated him as an enemy and sought his death.

Jesus came as God’s promised Anointed One. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, welcomed sinners, taught divine truth, and lived in perfect obedience to the Father. The religious leaders still envied Him and plotted to kill Him. Pilate recognized that Jesus had been handed over because of envy, and an innocent man was condemned.

Like David, Jesus was rejected before He was enthroned. David’s path to the throne led through exile and suffering. Jesus’ path to glory led through betrayal, crucifixion, and the grave. His enemies believed His death would protect their positions, but God used their actions to accomplish His saving plan.

There is also an important difference between David and Jesus. David repeatedly escaped death because his appointed hour hadn’t arrived. Jesus could’ve escaped His enemies, but when His hour came, He willingly surrendered Himself. No one took His life from Him against His will. He laid it down so that everyone who trusts in Him could receive forgiveness and eternal life.

Jesus is also the faithful friend this passage teaches us to desire. Jonathan loved David, defended his innocence, warned him of danger, and bound himself to him in covenant loyalty. Jesus has shown us an even greater love. He didn’t protect Himself at our expense. He gave Himself in our place.

Saul’s jealousy reveals the destructive power of a heart that refuses to submit to God. Jonathan’s friendship reveals the freedom of trusting God’s purposes even when they alter our personal plans. David’s preservation reveals that human opposition can’t overturn what God has determined. Jesus’ death and resurrection reveal the fullest expression of that truth.

Humanity rejected God’s chosen King, but rejection didn’t defeat Him. The cross led to the resurrection, suffering led to glory, and the crucified Savior now reigns. Jesus is the King no jealous ruler, hostile authority, or spiritual enemy can remove. Everyone who belongs to Him can live with confidence because our lives and our future rest securely in His hands.

© John Stange, 2026