May 17, 2020. I Samuel 20:24-34

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TENSE TABLE TALK. I SAMUEL 20:24-34. 5/17/20. PM. #65.

I Samuel 20:24-34 [New King James Version (NKJV)]

²⁴ Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. ²⁵ Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.” ²⁷ And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.” ³⁰ Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” ³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” ³³ Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. ³⁴ So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

• Setting the table
  • Saul sat by wall (no surprise attacks) and was silent on first feast day
    • Saul thought that David was absent for ceremonial unclean.
    • Saul was willing to bide his time
  • Seems odd that Saul expected David to come when he tried to kill him twice
  • On the 2nd day Saul asks “where is the son of Jesse?”
    • David would have been clear of any uncleanness by then
    • This is the moment of test of Saul’s intent toward David
  • Jonathan explains that David asked to be excused to attend a family sacrifice at the request of his oldest brother, Eliab (common act)
• Saul erupts
  • Saul’s wrath rises to the surface
    • Saul accuses Jonathan of being pro-David and anti-Saul
    • Saul thinks that Jonathan is a fool, working against his own interests as the future king of Israel
  • Saul completely disregards Samuel’s prediction that God will take the kingdom away from Saul (I Samuel 15)- the proud are blind to truth
  • Had Jonathan been power hungry like dad, he would have sided with Saul
  • Saul reveals several facts in his rage:
    • Saul calls Jonathan the son of a perverse and rebellious woman
    • An odd slight on his own wife (perverse = slut)
    • Saul’s wife probably opposed his unholy acts
    • Jonathan learned humility and godliness from mom
  • Saul considered Jonathan shameful even to his mother
  • Saul knows that Jonathan sides with David
  • Saul reveals that he had figured out that David is the threat to the kingdom alluded to by Samuel
    • First time Saul expresses this truth
    • Saul thinks that killing David secures Jonathan’s throne
  • Saul’s madness demonstrates his foolishness
    • Samuel already had informed Saul his kingdom was lost
    • Like Lucifer (Isaiah 14) Saul is fighting a losing battle vs. God
  • Once God shows his will, nothing can change the course God chooses (Moses not going into Canaan, Balaam not cursing Israel, Isr. not allowed to defeat Canaan without God, Ahab not avoiding God’s judgment, Jonah going to Nineveh…)
    • When God is leading in a direction, go without resistance
    • God can’t be successfully opposed
    • God never asks our advice or yield to our will
  • Saul commands Jonathan to bring David to him to be killed (he “will surely die” is the same phrase used by God in Genesis 2:16-17 about forb. fruit)
    • Saul no longer hides intention from Jonathan
    • Saul’s motivation moves from jealousy to protecting his legacy (David is a threat so Saul will not relent in pursuit)
  • When anyone makes a permanent decision to oppose God, his fate is sealed (both temporal and eternal judgment are certain)
• Jonathan’s awakening
  • Jonathan still thinks he can reason with his father
    • You can’t reason with evil since evil is irrational
    • Jonathan resisted concluding that dad was evil
  • Jonathan asks 2 questions: (1) Why kill David?  (2) What had David done?                             
  • Saul throws a spear at Jonathan (from established kingdom to death threat)
  • Saul has no fear of God, so even his son is viewed as his enemy
  • Jonathan is angry, grieved, and ashamed all at the same time
  • Often we must choose between God and family (a loss and greater gain)