Jonathan Spoke Well Of David

1 Samuel 19:4-9 – 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?” Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.” So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before. Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him. 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, 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.

1 Samuel 17:11 – On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

1 Samuel 10:17-18 – Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

Judges 9:23 – God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek.

Application:

• ·         The fear of Saul and the Israelite army betrays a loss of faith in the covenant promises of the Lord.
• ·         The Lord emphasized to the people that He has been their deliverer throughout the history.
• ·         The Hebrew for “animosity” is frequently rendered “evil spirit” or harmful spirit”; here perhaps a “spirit” of distrust and bitterness. The Hebrew for “spirit” is often used to describe an attitude or disposition.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV