David on the Run (1 Samuel 19-20)

  As time went by, King Saul hated David more and more, even though David was married to his daughter Michal and  he was best friends with his son, Jonathan. The king was jealous of David because of his popularity and because he knew that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king. Saul wanted his son to keep the throne in the family and David was standing in his way.


 One day Saul had enough. He sent a couple of his men to David's house. "Kill him when he comes out in the morning!" Saul ordered. That evening the men went to David's house and waited outside until David came out the next morning so they could kill him.
 Michal, David's wife, was looking out the window. She noticed that a couple of her father's men were hanging around. She overheard them saying that they were supposed to kill David. She woke up David. "Hurry my husband! You must climb out the window right away and get away. My father has ordered some of his men to come and kill you!" So she helped David climb out the widow. Then she put some things in his bed along with a furry goat pillow to make it appear as if David was still in bed. David fled into the forest.
 The next morning, David never came out of his house, so Saul's men went inside. "Where is David?" they asked.
 "I'm sorry, David is not feeling well today." Michal told them as she motioned toward the bed. The men saw the "fake" David under the covers. His bushy hair partially exposed from under the covers. Saul's men returned to the castle to report to the king.
 "Did you kill David?" Saul asked.

 "No, he was ill and in bed, so we left him alone." The men stated.
 Saul got very angry! "So what!" He shouted. "Bring his bed with him lying in it, and I'll kill him myself!" So Saul's men went back to David's house. When they picked up David's bed, they realized that they had been tricked and reported back to Saul right away. Saul stormed over to David and Michal's house.
 "Where is David?" Saul inquired of his daughter. "Why have you tricked me?"
 Even though Michal had done the right thing by helping David escape, she did the wrong thing by lying to her father. " David threatened to kill me if I didn't help him escape!" She said. This made Saul burn with more anger still.


 Sometimes we do the right thing in God's eyes, but the when confronted by man, we become afraid and undo the good that we have done. God wants us to do the right thing, then stand by our actions when confronted by others. By doing this, we are trusting God and bringing him glory. Trust in God rather than man. (Psalm 118:8) as a side note: Psalm 118:8 is the exact center of the bible. That's cool!


  Meanwhile David found Jonathan out in the fields. "Your sister Michal told me that she overheard your father's men talking, and your father wants to kill me." David told him.
 "My sister has a tendency to exaggerate. I'm sure it's not true." Jonathan replied.
 "Ok, I have an idea." said David. " Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival. I always sit with your father during the meal. If he asks where I am, tell him that I requested to celebrate with my family instead and that you approved my request. You will see how he reacts and let me know the day after tomorrow. I'll be waiting here."
 The next day, at the festival, Saul noticed that David was not there, but didn't say anything. Then the next day, David was still a no show. "Where is David?" Saul asked Jonathan.
 "Oh, I told him that he could celebrate with his family this year."Jonathan replied.
 Saul flew into a rage and hurled a spear at Jonathan, nearly missing Him. Saul called his son a bunch of names and told him to go get David so he could kill him. Jonathan rebuked his father and said that David was a good man and didn't deserve to be killed. Jonathan knew that his sister was right. David's life was in danger. He returned to David and told him. Through tears Jonathan and David parted ways. They vowed their friendship forever, even to any relatives that may be left behind if either of them should be killed. This is important as we will see in upcoming chapters.


 Michal and Jonathan both did the right thing by protecting David, however Michal chickened out when confronted by her father. Jonathan on the other hand stood strong for what was right. Even to his father, the king.