1And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.

2But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

4And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:

5For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

6And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.

7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

8And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

9And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.

10And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

11Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

12So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

13And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

15And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

16And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.

17And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

18So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

19And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

20And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

21And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

23And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Samuel, Nathan, & Gad

Date Penned: (931-975 BC)

Overview: Samuel, Israel's Last Judge (c 1-31)

Theme: Saul and David (c 16-31)

Message: David Escapes from Saul (v 1-24)

1 Samuel 19 Commentary

(19:1-23) Jonathan Disobeys His Parents - Is it ever right to disobey your parent or guardian, as Jonathan did here? It is clearly a principle of Scripture that when a parent or guardian instructs his or her child to break God's laws, the child should obey God rather than a human being. This principle assumes that the child is old enough to be accountable and to see through any deception. A child's role is to be respectful, helpful, and obedient to his or her parents (Ephesians 6:1-3), but not to follow advice or commands that violate God's laws. Jonathan recognized David's anointing from God and his superior leadership qualities.

(19:19-24) Saul Prophesied - This was the second time that Saul surprised everyone by joining a group of prophets and prophesying. We do not know if they were speaking messages from God or merely joining in ecstatic expression. The first time this happened to Saul (1 Samuel 10) was right after he was anointed king and did not want to accept the responsibility. This time Saul was consumed with jealousy over David's growing popularity, but the Spirit of God immobilized him so he was unable to harm David. Although Saul was receptive to the Spirit of God and was caught up in prophesying, his heart and mind were far from loving God and thinking like him.

(19:23) God Protects David - Jonathan spoke up for David (19:4), Michal helped him escape (19:11-17), Samuel gave him a place to hide (19:18), and here the Spirit of God interrupted Saul's manhunt. Each of these events protected David from harm and even death. They were more than coincidences; God was at work. When you are spared from harm, consider that God may be supernaturally protecting you because he has a further purpose for you in his work here on earth.

LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter, making application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Today we continue in the book of 1st Samuel with Chapter 19. In our text, we see David escaping from Saul. What catches my eye today is How David can escape from Saul due to the people God places in his life. In applying, we see how the Lord protects us from our enemies. Our Lord engineers circumstances and puts people in our lives to escape our enemies. The Bible says in a later text that no weapon formed against us should prosper. We need to remember that the Lord is in control and to trust Him in the battle; he will give us a way of escape and ultimate victory. How about you? Are you facing a battle? Let us learn from our text today and look for those people and circumstances that the Lord places in our lives to give us victory.