MICHAL RESCUES DAVID Now, Saul began to fall apart; He spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants that they should kill David (1 Samuel 19: 1); then swore by the Lord, that he would not be killed, after Jonathan interceded for his friend. Yet David’s conquest of the enemies, inflamed Saul’s envy anew to try to pin David to the wall with the spear; and when he failed, he sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in his bed but his wife Michel rescued him. Finally David resorted to the prophet Samuel in Ramah, to go together to ‘Ninth’; and there, Saul came with his men, to prophesy. We can say that God, in vain, used every possible way to put an end to Saul’s folly and selfishness; He spoke to him through his son Jonathan, his daughter Michel, David’s wife and finally through the prophets. 1- Jonathan intercedes for David 1 – 7. 2- Saul sends messengers to kill David 8 – 11. 3- Michel saves David 12 – 17. 4- The prophets cause Saul’s plan to fail 18 – 24. 1- JONATHAN INTERCEDES FOR DAVID David was successful in everything he did, because the Lord was with him; That is why all the people loved him, particularly the members of the royal court, Jonathan the son of Saul, and his sister Michel, David’s wife; while Saul himself was so filled with envy and hatred, that he insisted on killing him one way or another. Pride was growing in Saul’s heart, while in that of David, humility was growing; the name ‘Saul,’ along the generations, came to represent haughtiness and arrogance, while the name ‘David,’ on the contrary, represented humility. The apostle ‘Paul’ was once called ‘Saul’ when He was full of pride, then became humble. His name was ‘Saul,’ like that arrogant king who persecuted David during his reign (1 Samuel 18: 39); then was changed to ‘Paul’ (1 Corinthians 1: 1), meaning (the least), who considered himself the last of all in the Church, after having arrogantly persecuted the innocent Christians. When his name was ‘Saul,’ he was arrogant and proud; and as it was changed to ‘Paul,’ he became humble and the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15: 9; Ephesians 3: 8). St. Augustine1 Some people may wonder: How Saul got abased to such an extent; to use every means to kill David though he had been granted the grace of prophecy (1 Samuel 10: 11)? Indeed Saul was granted ‘Prophecy’ as a divine gift, in order to experience the life of praise and worship, being the Lord’s anointed; Yet, as he did not harbor humility and love in his heart, he lost every goodness, opposed David, and even rebelled against God Himself, and broke his commandment. Don’t marvel at this! That is why the saintly fathers concentrate on acquiring love, as a fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, to live by the Lord, and not to lose our salvation The other gifts, even that of Baptism, would not be capable of supporting us without love. 1 Serm. On N. T. Lessons 27: 3; In 1 Tim. Rom. 2 Gaining Baptism is possible, even for a wicked person; so also the gift of prophecy. A wicked man can have communion in the Body and Blood of the Lord; That is why it is said: “Whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11: 27 - 29). An evil person can bear the name of Christ and be called Christian; Yet, it is said of him: “He profaned My holy name” (see Ezekiel 36: 20). But it is not possible to have love, and be evil! As love is a special gift. St. Augustine1 Saul, as one with authority, assumed that he is capable of getting rid of David; But God gave David a way out: He opened the heart of Jonathan, the son of Saul, with a strong love to David to the extent that he gave away some secrets of the kingdom; He disregarded his body relationship to Saul, and told David that his father is intending to kill him that he should be careful, and should wait until Jonathan knows the matter, and tries to recon ciliate them. We marvel to see such true bond of friendship between two competitors on the throne of a kingdom: Jonathan, was born to reign, while David was called to reign. Although both of them were heroes and great commanders in the army, their look at each other was one of admiration and appreciation, with a true love even to death. Jonathan defended David, until his father rebuked him and even tried to kill him. Jonathan helped David to flee (1 Samuel 20); How beautiful were the words: “Then Jonathan, Saul’s son arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hands in God; and he said to him: ‘Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that. So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord” (1 Samuel 23: 16 - 18). In the beginning, Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to his servants, that they should kill David (1 Samuel 19: 1); Having warned David, Jonathan invited his father to walk with him in the field, intending to talk to him secretly, to try to recon ciliate him with David; drawing his attention to their need for the service of such a good and brave man for the sake of their kingdom; Saul responded and vowed before his son that he would change his attitude; Yet that was only temporarily. Jonathan, from the beginning, could have told David to flee from Saul’s face, but he counted that as a great loss for the kingdom, as well as for him personally, as he loved David as himself. David resumed his duties, once Saul responded to the true and honest voice of his son. And then there was war again. David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a mighty blow, that they fled before him. (1 Samuel 19: 8). His reward was that Saul’s heart got filled with envy, and his spirit was overcome by an evil spirit. 2-SAUL SENDS MESSENGERS TO KILL DAVID Saul tried to kill David with the spear, but he fled before him; So he sent messengers to his house to watch and kill him in the morning (1 Samuel 19: 11). For that, the prophet David sang his fifty-ninth psalm (according to the Septuagint version) saying: “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 look, they lie in wait for my life; the mighty gather against me,... Awake to 1 In 1 John hom 7. 3 help me, and behold!... At evening they return, they growl like a dog, and go all around the city...” (Psalm 59: 1 - 6) St. Augustine in his interpretation of this psalm1, believes that Saul’s action, is a symbol of what the priests and the Pharisees have done with the Lord Christ. As Saul sent messengers in the morning to David’s house to watch and kill him, So the rulers of the Jews paid a bribe to the soldiers guarding the Lord’s tomb, to say in the morning, that His disciples came by night and stole His body. By that they wanted to (kill) the Lord a second time, namely, to destroy the faith in Him; but they failed. In the fifty-ninth psalm, the prophet David likens Saul’s messengers watching and trying to kill him, to one dog going around the city, as if not to kill but to protect. So God does with those who fear him, transforming evil into good. Saul sought to kill David, yet the latter was rescued by Michel the daughter of Saul whom God used as a way to confirm his care for him. In the same way, when the rulers of the Jews bribed the soldiers to (kill) the news of Christ’s resurrection; their action was transformed into a confirmation of the resurrection; as it is against logic to believe that the disciples, overcome by fear, could go by night to the sealed, heavily guarded tomb, to steal the body of the Lord. What the guards claimed, became a confirmation that the body was not in the tomb, which confirmed His resurrection. 3- MICHEL SAVES DAVID Michel probably heard from her father’s household, about the issue of the messengers; and as she dearly loved her husband, she planned for his rescue;. As her house was probably by the wall of the city, she let David down through a window to start a new stage of his life that carried valuable experiences. He entered into a life of passion, to live among the oppressed and fugitives, with no place to settle down. It is as though, God was preparing him to practice the royal life, not that of authority and glory, but that of ministry and care, particularly to the fugitives and oppressed. In that, David was a symbol of the Lord Christ whose love for mankind, let Him descend from heaven, as though from His home, to wander in the wilderness of this world, with no place to rest His head; He lived as a fugitive; and was tempted, to be able to help those who are tempted. Michel used deceit and lying to save David: She took an image (idol) and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goat’s hair for his head, and covered it with clothes (1 Samuel 19: 13). That idol, in the same size of man, David knew nothing about, Michel probably hid in her house, not to worship it, but as an omen to get pregnant and to have a son. She also lied saying that David was sick; and when admonished by her father, saying: “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?!,” She lied, saying: ”He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you” (1 Samuel 19: 17). 4- THE PROPHETS CAUSE SAUL’S PLANS TO FAIL David fled and went to Samuel at Ramah, and he and Samuel went and stayed at Ninth, meaning (a dwelling place). Samuel left his own house and stayed with David, probably to protect him from Saul, not by a sword or spear, but by God’s work and his spiritual authority, having been the founder and chief of the school of prophets; and also the one who anointed both kings: Saul and David. David probably came to join his teacher; assuming that Saul may probably give consideration to the location and its chief. But Saul, whose heart was filled with envy and hatred, did not reconsider his plans, nor went by himself to consult Samuel, 1 On Ps. 59 (1). 4 but sent messengers to bring David to kill him. When those messengers reached the location, influenced by the spiritual atmosphere, they forgot every thing about their mission; the Spirit of God came upon them, and they prophesied; namely, partook of praise and worship with the prophets.. When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, thinking that the first messengers were ashamed of Samuel, and again others who likewise prophesied. Instead of learning the lesson, Saul went to Ramah by himself, and came to the great well that was at ‘Sechu’; and there God was likewise glorified: His Spirit came upon Saul in Ninth, and prophesied. Greatly influenced by those praising God by such marvelous music, Saul stripped off his robe and his military armor, and laid down in his white attire, all that day and all that night praising and singing. All those who saw him said: “Is Saul also among the prophets?! “ (1 Samuel 19: 24). God wanted to confirm that He is the God of the impossible, who is capable of transforming Saul’s heart, filled with hatred, into one enflamed with yearning to worship and praise; stripped of clothes of glory and dignity; Yet He did not force him to it, but left it to his free will; That is why he soon returned to his evil nature. Some scholars assumed that David and Samuel had mocked Saul, as they saw him (naked) all that day and all that night; Yet it was the other way round: Those two prophets glorified God for His work with Saul, though temporary. That scene left such an effect on David’s heart; that he commended him together with his son Jonathan, saying: “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives” (2 Samuel 1: 23). That is what remained in David’s heart concerning Saul; He forgot his envy, hatred, oppression, and plans to kill him, to think of him as the one beloved and pleasant, who praised God among the prophets.
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