𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝟭𝟴-𝟮𝟬: 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆, 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆

𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝟭𝟴-𝟮𝟬: 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆, 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆

(𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 1 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦: 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘣𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴-𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴)

Before diving into this study, we encourage you to read 1 Samuel 18-20 in your Bible.

These chapters explore the rise of jealousy in Saul, the deep friendship between David and Jonathan, and God’s hand in protecting David as he becomes a target of Saul’s wrath. Let’s break it down.

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺

David is now in Saul’s court after defeating Goliath. Jonathan, Saul’s son, forms a strong friendship with David, even giving him his robe, armor, and weapons—a symbolic act showing his loyalty and recognition of David’s future kingship.

David’s success in battle gains him fame, and the people begin singing:
“𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.” (1 Samuel 18:7)

Not exactly a song Saul wanted to hear! This moment plants the seeds of jealousy in Saul’s heart, and from that point forward, Saul eyed David with suspicion.

Twice, Saul tries to kill David by hurling a spear at him. But David continues to succeed, and Saul, realizing that God is with David, grows even more fearful.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• Why do you think jealousy took such a strong hold on Saul?

• Have you ever struggled with jealousy when God blessed someone else? How do you handle those feelings in light of God’s plan?

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵: 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗻

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺

Saul’s jealousy turns into full-blown pursuit. He orders Jonathan and his servants to kill David, but Jonathan warns David and pleads with Saul to reconsider. Saul relents… for a moment.

But soon after, Saul again tries to kill David with a spear. David flees, and his wife Michal (Saul’s daughter) helps him escape by lowering him out a window. She even tricks Saul’s messengers by placing an idol in David’s bed.

David runs to Samuel, and when Saul sends men to capture him, something amazing happens: the Spirit of God comes upon Saul’s men, and instead of arresting David, they start prophesying! Even when Saul himself goes after David, he too falls under God’s power and prophesies.

It’s as if God is saying, "Not today, Saul!"

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• How do we see God’s protection over David in this chapter?

• Can you think of a time when God protected you from harm, even when you didn’t realize it at the moment?

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬: 𝗔 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺

David is running for his life, and he turns to his best friend, Jonathan, for help. Jonathan is caught between loyalty to his father, Saul, and his deep friendship with David.

David and Jonathan come up with a plan—Jonathan will test Saul’s anger at a feast. If Saul reacts violently to David’s absence, they’ll know David is truly in danger.

And sure enough, when David doesn’t show up, Saul loses it and even hurls his spear at Jonathan!

Realizing his father is beyond reason, Jonathan goes to the field, shoots arrows as a secret signal to David, and they have an emotional goodbye. Jonathan knows David will one day be king, and he pledges his loyalty to him.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• How does Jonathan’s selflessness in this chapter reflect godly friendship?

• Have you ever had to make a difficult choice between loyalty to people and loyalty to God?

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝟭𝟴-𝟮𝟬

1. 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝘀 – Saul’s envy of David turned him into a man driven by fear and hatred.

2. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 – David was repeatedly rescued, showing God’s sovereignty.

3. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 – Jonathan’s actions remind us of Christ-like love.

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱

David is now a fugitive, and Saul’s pursuit won’t stop here. 𝙄𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮, 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 1 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙚𝙡 21-23, where David flees for his life, finds unexpected help, and faces tough decisions while on the run. Through it all, we’ll see how he continues to trust in God’s plan, even when everything seems against him.