A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

for others to follow. Monogamy is commended by the Creator God (Gen. 2:24) and Jesus (Matt.
19:6) and is the norm for today.
Saul’s hatred for David continued to grow until he finally called his servants in and
ordered the assassination of David (1 Sam. 19:1). Among those present on that occasion was
Jonathan, Saul’s son and friend of David. Jonathan warned his friend of the immediate danger
and urged David to hide. Then he went to his father and talked with him on David’s behalf. As
he defended David’s loyalty to Saul, Jonathan was successful in convincing Saul to rescind his
order to kill David, and the two were at least temporarily reconciled.
David continued to serve his king faithfully, fighting against the enemies of Israel. In the
course of doing so, David led an attack against the Philistines which resulted in a great slaughter
of the Philistines and significant victory for Israel. But at a time when Saul should have been
celebrating the national victory, he was again possessed with the evil spirit. Once again David sat
before him with his harp, trying to help the king. And once again Saul tried unsuccessfully to kill
David. Quickly David escaped from the king and went to his own home.
Saul was intent on killing David this time and sent men to guard David’s house that night
and kill him in the morning. David soon became aware of the presence of these messengers of
death and suspected their true purpose. He responded to their presence by pouring his heart out
to God in prayer. “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; defend me from those who rise up
against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloodthirsty men. For lo,
they lie in wait for my life; the mighty gather against me, not for my transgression nor for my
sin, O Lord” (Ps. 59:1-3).
Michal realized she was trapped between her love for her husband and her father. She
warned David to escape with his life. She felt confident her father would not allow her to be
harmed and remained behind to delay any search which might be made for her husband. She let
him out through a window, probably holding one end of a rope or sheet while David climbed
down the wall. After David had escaped, she took one of the idols she apparently possessed and
placed it in David’s bed so that it looked like the body of a man. Where the head belonged, she
placed a goatskin pillow to look like the back of a man’s head poking up through the covers.
When the messengers of Saul came in the next morning to kill David, Michal showed
them the bed and claimed her husband was sick and could not be moved. The messengers failed
to inspect the bed before reporting back to the king. Only when they were sent back to get David,
bed and all, did they realize they had been tricked. When Saul asked Michal why she had
allowed David to escape, she defended herself by falsely claiming David had threatened her life
if she did not do so.
DAVID THE FUGITIVE
(1 Sam. 19:18-27:12; Pss. 13; 34; 52; 54; 56-57; 63; 142)
David the shepherd, who had become David the champion, was now David the fugitive.
“So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done
to him” (1 Sam. 19:18). Soon word leaked back to the king that David was in Ramah with
Samuel. Saul immediately sent men to Ramah to take David. But when the men arrived at
Ramah and saw Samuel and a group of prophets prophesying, they too were overcome by the
Spirit of God and began to prophesy. When Saul learned what had happened, he sent a second
group to accomplish the mission, but they too began to prophesy as they came to the city. The
second group was followed by a third group which had the same thing happen to them. Finally,
Saul himself went to Ramah to find David, and as he came near the place where David and