1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18

MacArthur - Such mutilations of the bodies of slain enemies were commonly practiced in ancient warfare. The number indicated the extent of the victory. (Borrow The MacArthur Study Bible) 1 Samuel 18:26 When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king's son-in-law. Before the days had expired BGT 1 Samuel 18:26 καὶ ἀπαγγέλλουσιν οἱ παῖδες Σαουλ τῷ Δαυιδ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα καὶ εὐθύνθη ὁ λόγος ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Δαυιδ ἐπιγαμβρεῦσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ LXE 1 Samuel 18:26 And the servants of Saul report these words to David, and David was well pleased to become the son-in-law to the king. KJV 1 Samuel 18:26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired. NET 1 Samuel 18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed to become the king's son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired CSB 1 Samuel 18:26 When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived, ESV 1 Samuel 18:26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, NIV 1 Samuel 18:26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, NLT 1 Samuel 18:26 David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, NRS 1 Samuel 18:26 When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, NJB 1 Samuel 18:26 When his servants repeated this to David, David thought it would be a fine thing to be the king's son-in-law. And no time was lost NAB 1 Samuel 18:26 When the servants reported this offer to David, he was pleased with the prospect of becoming the king's son-in-law. (Before the year was up,) YLT 1 Samuel 18:26 And his servants declare to David these words, and the thing is right in the eyes of David, to be son-in-law to the king; and the days have not been full, the days: 1Sa 18:21 expired: Heb. fulfilled 1 Samuel 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DAVID PLEASED AT PROSPECT OF JOINING THE ROYAL FAMILY When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king's son-in-law. Before the days had expired - NIV = "before the allotted time elapsed," These words (1) imply Saul had given David a "deadline" and (2) are words that preface the next passage. 1 Samuel 18:27 David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. BGT 1 Samuel 18:27 καὶ ἀνέστη Δαυιδ καὶ ἐπορεύθη αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπάταξεν ἐν τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις ἑκατὸν ἄνδρας καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν τὰς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ ἐπιγαμβρεύεται τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ τὴν Μελχολ θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ εἰς γυναῖκα LXE 1 Samuel 18:27 And David arose, and went, he and his men, and smote among the Philistines a hundred men: and he brought their foreskins, and he becomes the king's son-in-law, and Saul gives him Melchol his daughter to wife. KJV 1 Samuel 18:27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. NET 1 Samuel 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king's son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. CSB 1 Samuel 18:27 David and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife. ESV 1 Samuel 18:27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. NIV 1 Samuel 18:27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. NLT 1 Samuel 18:27 he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king's requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife. NRS 1 Samuel 18:27 David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife. NJB 1 Samuel 18:27 before David got up to go, he and his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. David brought their foreskins back and counted them out before the king, so that he could be the king's son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. NAB 1 Samuel 18:27 David made preparations and sallied forth with his men and slew two hundred Philistines. He brought back their foreskins and counted them out before the king, that he might thus become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. YLT 1 Samuel 18:27 and David riseth and goeth, he and his men, and smiteth among the Philistines two hundred men, and David bringeth in their foreskins, and they set them before the king, to be son-in-law to the king; and Saul giveth to him Michal his daughter for a wife. his men: 1Sa 18:13 slew: Jdg 14:19 2Sa 3:14 two hundred men: The Septuagint has only [ ,] one hundred men; and as Saul covenanted for a hundred, as David himself says, (2 Sa 3:14,) that he espoused Michal for a hundred, it is very probable that this is the true reading. 1 Samuel 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DAVID DOUBLES THE DOWRY! David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law - David made sure Saul would be satisfied by doubling the number of Philistine foreskins. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife - Surely frustrated at failure of his ruse to result in David's death, he is forced to give David Michal and thus David effectively joins the royal family! 1 Samuel 18:28 When Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, BGT 1 Samuel 18:28 καὶ εἶδεν Σαουλ ὅτι κύριος μετὰ Δαυιδ καὶ πᾶς Ισραηλ ἠγάπα αὐτόν LXE 1 Samuel 18:28 And Saul saw that the Lord was with David, and that all Israel loved him. KJV 1 Samuel 18:28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him. NET 1 Samuel 18:28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, CSB 1 Samuel 18:28 Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, ESV 1 Samuel 18:28 But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, NIV 1 Samuel 18:28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, NLT 1 Samuel 18:28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, NRS 1 Samuel 18:28 But when Saul realized that the LORD was with David, and that Saul's daughter Michal loved him, NJB 1 Samuel 18:28 Saul could not but see that Yahweh was with David, and that the whole House of Israel loved him; NAB 1 Samuel 18:28 Saul thus came to recognize that the LORD was with David; besides, his own daughter Michal loved David. YLT 1 Samuel 18:28 And Saul seeth and knoweth that Jehovah is with David, and Michal daughter of Saul hath loved him, 1Sa 24:20 26:25 Ge 30:27 37:8-11 39:3 Rev 3:9 1 Samuel 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SAUL SEES THE LIGHT When Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David - Even spiritually obtuse Saul realized that David was being protected and prospered by the LORD. and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him - Their marriage gets off to a good start and from the beginning she is loyal to David. 1 Samuel 18:29 then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David's enemy continually. LXE 1 Samuel 18:29 And he was yet more afraid of David. KJV 1 Samuel 18:29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually. NET 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. CSB 1 Samuel 18:29 and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David's enemy from then on. ESV 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. NIV 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. NLT 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David's enemy for the rest of his life. NRS 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy from that time forward. NJB 1 Samuel 18:29 Saul became more afraid of David than ever, and became his inveterate enemy. NAB 1 Samuel 18:29 Therefore Saul feared David all the more (and was his enemy ever after). YLT 1 Samuel 18:29 and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David all the days. yet the: 1Sa 18:12,15 Ps 37:12-14 Ec 4:4 Jas 2:19 Saul became: Ge 4:4-8 Joh 11:53 1Jn 3:12-15 1 Samuel 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SAUL'S INCREASING FEAR OF DAVID then - When is then? Clearly when his eyes were opened to the fact that the good hand of the LORD was on David. Saul was even more afraid of David - This is the third time Saul is described as afraid of David and undoubtedly afraid of David's LORD! (1Sa 18:12, 1Sa 18:14-15, 1Sa 18;28-29) Surely Saul knew his days were numbered! Thus Saul was David's enemy continually - Saul became David's inveterate enemy. Saul had a way of separating himself from good people, for earlier Samuel had departed from him. David alludes to this in Psalm 18:1 "For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul." James Smith - SAUL, THE ENEMY 1 Samuel 18:29 “Fool that I was! I will rehearse my fault: I, wingless, thought myself on high to lift Among the winged! I set these feet that halt To run against the swift.” —INGELOW. Lowell hath said that “Best things perish of their own excess, and quality overdriven becomes defect.” Who would have thought that the beautiful and childlike life of Saul would so soon be transformed and degraded into a purely selfish and God-dishonouring career He began in the Spirit and ended in the flesh. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. Like every other case of backsliding, it had its source in turning aside from the revealed will of God (1 Sa 15:11–26). One step out of the path of faith is enough to put us on the way to a self-ruined life. Saul now becomes the open and avowed enemy of David, the Lord’s anointed. A man possessed by an evil spirit will rush his head against the thick bosses of Jehovah’s buckler. Saul in becoming the enemy of David became— I. A Sinner against his own Family. See his dastardly conduct with Michal, his own daughter, who loved David; how he presses and schemes for their union in marriage, in the hope that she might speedily be made a widow (1 Sa 18:20, 21). Think how often the tender heart of Jonathan was grieved—for he too loved David—at his father’s heartless and cowardly behaviour. When any father takes up an attitude of opposition to Jesus Christ, who is the Lord’s anointed, he is always fighting against the best interests of his own household. Godliness is profitable for the life that now is as well as for the life which is to come. The love of Christ is meant to sweeten the home life by enabling us joyfully to bear one another’s burdens. II. A Sinner against the Testimony of the Holy Spirit. The scene at Naioth must have been an exciting one (1 Sa 19:19–24). Saul hears that David is there and sends messengers to apprehend him, but as soon as they come within the holy atmosphere of the prophetic band they are influenced by the Spirit and begin to prophesy. A second, and even a third company were sent, with the same result. Then Saul himself went thither, “and the Spirit of God was upon him also.” Surely if ever a man had evidence that the Spirit of God was opposed to his present actions that man was Saul, and the time was now. It would seem as if the Holy Ghost lingered over Saul, as the Shekinah glory hovered near Jerusalem ere it finally departed (Ezek. 11:23). Oh, how loath our God is to give us up! But this last manifestation of the Spirit of prophecy fails to turn him from the error of his way. The effect was only like the morning cloud. Grieve not the Holy Spirit. III. A Sinner against the Servants of God. Saul commanded that the priests of the Lord be slain, “because their hand also is with David (1 Sa 22:17, 18). Saul, in refusing to give David his God-appointed place, is compelled to become the enemy of all who favour him. It is so still. Our relationships to Christ determine our attitude toward our fellowmen. The interests of Jesus Christ and His people are so vitally connected that they cannot be divided. “He that touched you touched the apple of Mine eye.” The priestly house of Ahimelech are the first to suffer martyrdom for the cause of David. But the blood of the holy is never spilt in vain; the cause for which it is shed will surelv prosper. IV. A Sinner against the Best Interests of the Nation. It is worthy of special note that while Saul was pursuing after David, “the Philistines invaded the land” (1 Sa 23:27, 28). While he was resisting and opposing the clearly revealed purpose of God the enemy came in like a flood. The will of the Lord was to bless the nation of Israel through David, whom He had chosen. To despise and dishonour him was to obstruct the divinely-appointed channel of blessing and rob the people of the grace of God. Is it otherwise now? God hath sent His Son to bless us, nationally as well as individually. Infidelity and indifference to Christ and His cause will always be a menace and a hindrance to a nation’s highest good. Men are slow to acknowledge this, but God is not mocked. In our pride and self-will we may despise and set aside the Lord’s anointed, but God knows no other channel through which we can be blessed (1 Tim. 2:5). V. A Sinner against his own Conscience. Now when David had shown the kindness of God to his would-be murderer, Saul wept, and said, “Thou are more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil” (1 Sa 24:16, 17). Yet for all this the bitterness of his heart against David constrained him to play the fool yet again (1 Sa 26:21). A man is always playing the fool when he is warring against the revealed will of God, because he is also fighting against the deeper and truer instincts of his own nature. He that sinneth against the light sinneth against his own soul. In submitting to Christ as our King we justify our own conscience, and there is peace. VI. A Sinner against the Providence of God. To be out of sympathy with God and His Christ (anointed) is to be out of harmony with the gracious providence of God. In 1 Sa 26 we see the powerful Saul falling once more into the hands of the poor despised David. Oh, the solemn irony of such circumstances! Philip II. of Spain said, after the destruction of the Armada, “I was prepared to conquer England, but not the elements.” But the elements in the hands of an overruling God have to be reckoned with. Those who are at enmity with the Son of David and His kingdom will certainly find out some time that the unerring providence of the Eternal One has ruled them outside His saving grace (Rom. 8:28). VII. A Sinner against the Purpose of God. If the mind was not blinded by the Devil, and maddened by the force of a rebellious self-will, no one would ever expect to succeed who was striving against the “determinate counsel of God” (Acts 2:23). “Why do the heathen rage, and imagine a vain thing?” (Ps 2:1). It was the fixed purpose of God to exalt David to the throne of Israel, so it is his settled determination that Jesus shall yet become the “Blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Those that fall on this stone shall be broken, and those on whom it shall fall it shall grind them to powder. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye shall perish” (Ps. 2:12). Fall in line with the revealed purpose of God in Christ Jesus, and you will save your soul from death and your life from failure and everlasting shame. Hidden Fears In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. — Psalm 56:11 Today's Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:28-19:12 John Matuszak was a 6’8″, 280-pound football player for the Oakland Raiders. His public image was that of a havoc-wreaking, heavy-drinking, hard-hitting player who was as much of a threat off the field as on. But friends knew “Tooz,” as they called him, as a 280-pound puppy dog just begging to be loved. According to Los Angeles Times writer Mark Heisler, John Matuszak was “beset by fears he couldn’t acknowledge.” As a young boy, he was ridiculed for his gawky, beanpole appearance. And he had two brothers who died of cystic fibrosis. The tough-guy image that Tooz had created was a fortress for him to hide in. But he got trapped there. After years of alcohol and drug abuse, John died of a massive heart attack at age 38. The story of King Saul bears some striking similarities. He too was a monster of a man, a fighter. He was also driven by fears (1 Samuel 18:29). Because he tried to cope with them in his own strength instead of turning to the Lord for help, his life came to an untimely end (31:4). Our weakness and fears can often be hid Beneath an exterior tough and strong; But it's best to admit that we're scared and weak, And trust in the Lord to whom we belong. —Fitzhugh Fear fades as faith grows. 1 Samuel 18:30 Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed. KJV 1 Samuel 18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by. NET 1 Samuel 18:30 Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul's servants. His name was held in high esteem. CSB 1 Samuel 18:30 Every time the Philistine commanders came out to fight, David was more successful than all of Saul's officers. So his name became well known. ESV 1 Samuel 18:30 Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed. NIV 1 Samuel 18:30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known. NLT 1 Samuel 18:30 Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul's officers. So David's name became very famous. NRS 1 Samuel 18:30 Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great. NJB 1 Samuel 18:30 The Philistine chiefs kept mounting their campaigns but, whenever they did so, David proved more successful than any of Saul's staff; consequently he gained great renown. NAB 1 Samuel 18:30 (The Philistine chiefs continued to make forays, but each time they took the field, David was more successful against them than any other of Saul's officers, and as a result acquired great fame.) YLT 1 Samuel 18:30 And the princes of the Philistines come out, and it cometh to pass from the time of their coming out, David hath acted more wisely than any of the servants of Saul, and his name is very precious. the princes: Of this war we know no more than that David, whose military skill was greater, was more successful in it, than all the other officers of Saul. went forth: 2Sa 11:1 behaved himself: 1Sa 18:5 Ps 119:99 Da 1:20 Lu 21:15 Eph 5:15 set by: Heb. precious, 1Sa 2:30 26:21 2Ki 1:13 Ps 116:15 1Pe 2:4,7 1 Samuel 18 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DAVID'S "STOCK" CONTINUES TO RISE IN VALUE Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul - ESV = "David had more success than all the servants of Saul" So his name was highly esteemed. - Young's Literal = "his name is very precious." Arthur