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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 2 August 2025:
1 Samuel 19:1 — And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David.
The true depth of Saul’s descent into darkness is revealed here: he commands his inner circle to commit murder. Not only is this a political assassination, it’s also a personal betrayal of righteousness. Saul has moved from jealousy to premeditated malice. But Jonathan, filled with the Spirit and bound in covenant loyalty to David, stands as a righteous contrast. Where Saul seeks to destroy, Jonathan seeks to defend. Just as Jesus stood between the wrath of God and sinners (Romans 5:8), Jonathan stands between his father and his friend, interceding for the innocent.
1 Samuel 19:2–3 — And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.”
Jonathan’s loyalty is not passive, it is protective and proactive. He risks his own relationship with his father to warn and safeguard David. True godly friendship is self-sacrificial (John 15:13). Jonathan becomes a type of Christ here, an intercessor who steps in to preserve the life of the anointed one. He also models for us how to honor authority without participating in evil (Romans 12:9; Acts 5:29).
1 Samuel 19:4–5 — And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?”
Jonathan speaks truth with clarity and courage. He appeals to reason, history, and justice. His defense of David is a plea to Saul’s conscience. The reference to “innocent blood” shows that murder is not just a social evil but a moral offense before God (Proverbs 6:17). It also foreshadows how Jesus would be unjustly accused and condemned though innocent (Luke 23:14–15). Godly advocacy calls out sin plainly and urges repentance with wisdom and truth.
- John 18:37 – “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
1 Samuel 19:6–7 — And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
This moment is a temporary reprieve, not true repentance. Saul’s oath invokes the Lord’s name, but his heart is not changed. His peace is superficial, and his jealousy will soon reignite. Jonathan’s efforts reflect the ongoing struggle of intercession: peacemaking is often temporary when the heart remains unchanged (James 3:16–18). Still, his faithfulness is not wasted — God uses it to delay evil and preserve David’s life.
1 Samuel 19:9–10 — Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
Again we see Saul gripped by the demonic torment God allowed due to his rebellion. His spear becomes a symbol of his rage and insecurity. David, faithful in service even to a murderous king, remains blameless. The spiritual principle here is sobering: those who resist the Spirit will eventually be ruled by harmful spirits (Romans 1:28–32). David flees, not out of fear, but as part of God’s sovereign protection and preparation.
1 Samuel 19:11–12 — Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
Michal, Saul’s daughter, shows more moral clarity than her father. Like Rahab protecting the spies (Joshua 2:15), she enables David’s escape. David, the anointed but not yet enthroned king, becomes a fugitive, a pattern repeated in Christ, who was hunted even from infancy (Matthew 2:13). God often leads His chosen ones through trial and exile before exaltation.
1 Samuel 19:13–17 — Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”
Michal uses deception to protect her husband, and while her methods may not be commendable, her loyalty to David is used by God. Her lie reflects her fear, not faith, and it reveals that her spiritual maturity is less than Jonathan’s. This is a reminder that even flawed acts can be used by God for good (Genesis 50:20), but they carry consequences. Michal’s later relationship with David will be marked by spiritual distance (2 Samuel 6:16–23).
1 Samuel 19:18–20 — Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
This episode marks a decisive turn in the spiritual battle. Saul’s messengers are overcome by the Spirit of God and begin to prophesy. It is a dramatic demonstration that God’s presence and power are greater than human schemes. David’s flight to Samuel reflects wise refuge — he seeks not just safety but spiritual covering. God often protects His servants through His Spirit, even when physical escape is impossible.
1 Samuel 19:21–23 — When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
Saul, like his messengers, is involuntarily overtaken by the Spirit of God. This is not the Spirit filling a willing heart, but overpowering an unrepentant man. God forcibly suspends Saul’s evil intent. His enemies become unwilling worshippers, a scene reminiscent of Philippians 2:10–11: “Every knee will bow… and every tongue confess…” The Lord shows that even kings must yield to His Spirit.
1 Samuel 19:24 — And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Saul, humiliated and stripped of dignity, lies prostrate under the weight of divine presence. This strange final verse shows that though the Spirit restrained Saul, it did not renew him. His nakedness parallels Adam’s exposure in sin (Genesis 3:10) and foreshadows Saul’s eventual downfall. External acts of prophecy cannot substitute for internal transformation. Saul had prophesied once before (1 Samuel 10:11), but the Spirit had since departed from him. What remains is an empty, tragic shell of a man still pretending to carry God’s authority.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 August 2025: Stand in godly loyalty. Like Jonathan, be the friend who defends righteousness and intercedes at great personal cost. Like David, remain faithful under attack and seek spiritual refuge when hunted by the world. And like the prophets, trust that the Spirit of God can halt the schemes of evil and reverse the intentions of man. Beware the spiritual deception of going through religious motions while resisting repentance. Yield to God fully — in heart, not just in appearance.
Pray: “Father, give me the courage of Jonathan to speak truth and the endurance of David to remain faithful when falsely accused. Let me take refuge in You when I am pursued and trust in Your Spirit to fight battles I cannot. Keep my heart soft, my conscience clear, and my spirit humble. Let me never be a Saul, prophesying without obedience, stripped by the Spirit instead of clothed in it. Conform me to Christ, and make me a true worshipper. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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