1 Samuel 18:10-16

Saul’s first direct attempt to kill David 18:10-16

The evil spirit from the Lord (cf. 1 Samuel 16:4, whatever it was) afflicted Saul the very next day. David and Saul each had something in their hand. David held a harp with which he sought to help the king by playing soothing music. Saul held a spear with which he sought to harm his helper. The writer stated the reason Saul attempted to pin David to the wall clearly in 1 Samuel 18:12. God was with David, and He had withdrawn from Saul (cf. 1 Samuel 18:14).

Saul’s unchecked jealousy bred the symptoms of paranoia; he began to think that his most loyal subject was his mortal enemy. Contrast Jonathan’s implicit confidence in David. The difference was that Saul saw David as a threat to his security, whereas Jonathan saw him as the savior of God’s people. [Note: For a very interesting comparison of Saul, David, and Absalom, that emphasizes David’s submissive responses to his enemy’s attacks, see Gene Edwards, A Tale of Three Kings.]

"The writer H. G. Wells says of one of his strange characters, Mr. Polly, ’He was not so much a human being as a civil war.’ [Note: H. G. Wells, The History of Mr. Polly, p. 5.] I think that is a perfect description of Saul. He became a living civil war, miserable, possessed of an evil spirit, mentally breaking, a suspicious, angry, jealous man. As a result, he struck out against the most trusted and trustworthy servant in his camp-David." [Note: Swindoll, p. 60.]

Next, Saul sent David out from the palace, evidently so he would not be a constant aggravation to the king. Saul placed David, whom he had already appointed as his commander-in-chief (1 Samuel 18:5), over a large unit of soldiers in the field (1 Samuel 18:13). The Hebrew word eleph can mean either 1,000 or a military unit. However, Saul’s decision only gave David more exposure to the people and increased his popularity with them. When Saul observed what was happening, he dreaded David even more (1 Samuel 18:15), but the people of both Israel and Judah loved him even more (1 Samuel 18:16; cf. 1 Samuel 18:1; 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 18:20). The terms "Israel" and "Judah" reflect the division of the kingdom in later years and suggest that the writer wrote this account after that event. However, even during David’s reign these names appear to have been characterizing the northern and southern parts of Israel. [Note: See Zechariah Kallai, "Judah and Israel-A Study in Israelite Historiography," Israel Exploration Journal 28:4 (1978):251-61.] God was causing the wrath of Saul to praise Him, to contribute toward the fulfillment of His plans. 1 Samuel 18:13 through 16 set the growing approval of the people and the mounting disapproval of Saul in vivid contrast.