David was just saved from the whole kingdom. He went out and fought the giant, defeated him with a stone, scared away the whole enemy army. One would think that he would be feted and celebrated throughout the rest of his life. And he was, at least for a while.
Then the women of Israel started singing a little song about it, and one part of it really got up King Saul's nose. From that point on, the Bible tells us, "Saul kept a jealous eye on David." This jealousy drove the once-great king to attempt to kill David in various ways, eventually pursuing him through the wilderness where David lived in hiding. It is one of the most telling displays of the corrupting nature of jealousy in all of Scripture.
From Hero to Favorite
David was welcomed into the royal household and army after his exploits against Goliath. He was a natural leader and soldier, as he had shown himself to be when facing the giant. He fought with all of his ability and courage on the battlefield, and the king placed him in charge. The people liked him, and so did Saul's family.
In particular, there was one person who seems to have been close to David – in fact, closer than anyone else. Saul's son Jonathan took an early liking to David. They formed a bond of friendship, and Jonathan gave David presents that showed him to be a favored retainer of the king's household. David was a great player of the harp, and he had been playing it for King Saul to soothe his troubled soul earlier in his life. For a while there, it looked as though David had everything. He was a great hero, he had the love and respect of the people, and the favor of the king. But, as it turns out, it was also the point when everything started to go wrong.
Jonathan, the king's own son and natural heir, gave David his robe and weapons as tokens of deep friendship. It was a bond that would outlast every danger — including his father's obsession.
The Song That Lit the Fire
David continued his winning ways on the battlefield and, inevitably, there was a celebration. However, on the return from one successful campaign, the king and his army were greeted by singing women. They performed a little song, dancing and playing musical instruments as well. But something in the song, something that David probably didn't even intend to put there, stung the pride of King Saul. As the women sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands."
Presumably, it was only meant as a victory fanfare. But to Saul's prideful nature, it was an insult. Why should David get all the glory? It wasn't fair! He gets slain thousands and the little upstart gets tens of thousands! What else is coming? Then it gets worse. The Bible tells us that from that point on, Saul was "jealous of David and kept a continual watch upon him." He stopped seeing David as a national hero, an asset, and started seeing him as an annoyance, an obstacle to him and his throne. This unhealthy and ungodly jealousy drove the great and mighty King Saul to try to kill David in several different ways.
The jealousy took a dark turn for the worse, and a harassing and disturbing spirit started haunting David. Saul cast his spear at him while David was playing the harp for the king, and then did the same again. David escaped twice more. In his later years, when even the harassment and assaults weren't enough to drive him off, Saul started being more subtle. He sent him on dangerous missions, hoping that the Philistines or some other enemy would kill him. He even tried marrying him off, demanding that he kill numerous Philistines to win his daughter's hand, hoping that he would die doing so. But nothing worked. David was always victorious in battle and, in the end, his successes only fueled the fire and drove Saul to even greater lengths.
A single line of a victory song — 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands' — was all it took. From that day, Saul stopped seeing David as a hero and started seeing him as a threat.
David on the Run
Eventually, Saul even stopped pretending to conceal his hatred for David. And so David had to run for his life. Jonathan tried to talk to his father, standing up for David and telling him what he should have done, and even warning David of the dangers. Even his wife Michal helped him sometimes, letting him sneak out of the capital city when his father's men came looking for him. But it was all in vain – there was no safety to be found anywhere near Saul. And so, David was on the run, taking shelter in caves and other wilderness areas to avoid the king's soldiers.
Saul's obsession with David was so great that it caused him to lead his men, sometimes three thousand of them, through the wilderness searching for a man who had once saved his life and served him faithfully. The man who had begun his reign as a great king found himself wasting time and effort chasing a mere retainer and soldier who had saved him and his kingdom from the giant and the entire enemy army. This obsession with David, this unhealthy jealousy of the man, was doing terrible things to Saul. It was poisoning his mind, wrecking his body, and eventually shortening his life. The more time he spent chasing David, the less he was fit for the duties of kingship. But, in a way, this was also the beginning of the end of his reign over Israel.
Saul sent armies into the desert to find one man. David sheltered in caves and wilderness strongholds, protected by loyal friends while the king who had once celebrated him consumed himself with the hunt.
The Mercy that Set David Apart
But there is also something remarkable about this story and what it teaches us about the kind of person David was. We see it most clearly demonstrated by the fact that, even when David had the chance to kill the man and end his suffering, he did not. There are probably more reasons for this than has been explained to us, but the Bible tells us specifically in both instances that it was because of the king's anointing. "David said, I will not lay my hand upon the Lord's anointed." David would not have it, because he knew that it was the Lord who had chosen him. In fact, David would not kill him and take his throne, because even though he had the chance, it was not his time. God would take Saul's life in battle, when the time came, but it was not David's place to hurry that along.
The same happened again when Saul came to David's cave to relieve himself and to sleep for the night. David's men saw him, and they told him, "Behold, the day of the Lord's anointed is in thine hand." And David himself went and took Saul's spear and pitcher while he was sleeping. But he did not kill him. "I will not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed," he told his men.
And so, David called out to Saul, and he woke up, and he saw the signs of David's mercy. He was stunned, and he told David that he was a better man than he was. "Thou art more righteous than I," he said to David. "For thou repaid me good for evil." But this was not the end of it either. This was not the end of all the suffering for Saul, or the hatred and jealousy he felt for David. And so, David went away, and Saul's life continued its downward spiral.
Twice David stood over his sleeping persecutor with the power to end it. Twice he walked away, taking only Saul's spear and water jug as proof — and called out from a distance to show what he had chosen not to do.
Two Anointed Kings
There is one more reason that Saul was so jealous of David, and that reason has to do with what God told Samuel earlier. You see, God had already told Samuel that Saul was no longer fit to be king, and he sent him to Bethlehem to choose a new king. That man was David. But even though David knew that he was God's chosen one to rule over Israel, he did not immediately go and install himself as king. He served Saul faithfully for some time before that happened. God had chosen Saul to be king at one point, and he remained king for many years. Even so, Saul was jealous of David and wanted him dead. It was almost as if he knew that he would be replaced by David one day, and he started to feel that it would not be fair. But even in the end, David knew that it was God's will that Saul would remain king for as long as he did.
There is so much to be learned from what happened to Saul and David. It is all a part of the lesson that shows us the corrupting nature of jealousy. Saul was the anointed king. He had his own army and he had a son who was also a favorite. He had everything he needed to be successful, and more than enough to make him happy with what he had. But instead, he became jealous of David – and this drove him to waste his life trying to kill the man God had chosen to rule Israel. It was this unhealthy jealousy that drove Saul into madness and eventually cost him his life. David, for his part, is shown to be a patient and righteous man. He had the power to kill Saul at will, but he was always merciful and he did not seek to take matters into his own hands. In the end, David was a much better king because of it.
