1 Samuel 18 – “Spears, Songs, and a Covenant of Souls”
The giant has fallen (ch. 17), yet the truest wonder of this new dawn
is not Goliath’s sword but a friendship.
• “Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as
himself.” (New International Version)
• Hebrew note: nefesh – the “life-breath,” the deepest self.
Jonathan’s nefesh is knit (qashar, to tie securely) to
David’s. This is more than camaraderie; it is covenant love.
Jonathan strips himself of robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt. In the Ancient Near East, these are tokens of status and life. To give them away is to say, “Your future matters more than my own.”
Cross-lights
‣ Ruth 1:16-17 – covenant loyalty (hesed).
‣ John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this…”
‣ Philippians 2:5-8 – laying aside privileges for another.
Invitation
Do I treat friendships as mutual gifts from God or as useful alliances?
Covenant friendship is self-giving, not self-seeking.
Women pour into the streets with “tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments” (cf. archaeology: bronze cymbals and frame-drums found at Megiddo, 12th c. BC). They chant a victory couplet typical of Hebrew folk poetry (parallelism, escalating second line):
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
Poetry births jealousy. Saul hears numbers, not praise. In cultures where honor is currency, this is a public downgrade—an “evil eye” moment (v. 9, Saul eyed David).
Cross-lights
‣ Ex 15:20-21 – Miriam’s song after the sea.
‣ Luke 15:25-30 – the elder brother resents the party.
Invitation
Praise that is not anchored in secure identity can sting like an insult.
Where am I measuring worth by someone else’s song sheet?
“An evil spirit from God” (better: “a harmful spirit permitted by God”) torments Saul. The Hebrew verb tsalach earlier described the Spirit “rushing” upon David (16:13); now a dark counterpart “rushes” upon Saul. Trauma, guilt, and spiritual abandonment swirl. He hurls the spear twice; David keeps playing the lyre. Music, used by God to soothe, now becomes backdrop for attempted murder.
Patristic echo – Augustine: “Saul is the flesh jealous of the spirit; it cannot strike, yet it casts spears.”
Invitation
How do I respond when someone’s fear makes me a target? David does not
surrender his gift; he keeps playing for the one who hates him.
Four times the text says David “behaved wisely” (sakal – act
with insight leading to success). Ancient Jewish commentators note a
chiastic rhythm:
A. Saul fears (12)
B. David is wise (14)
A’. Saul fears more (15)
B’. David is loved (16)
When God is “with” someone (v. 14), even spears cannot thwart purpose. Saul’s fear reveals a tragic reversal: the king now dreads the shepherd he once welcomed.
Cross-lights
‣ Gen 39:2-3 – “The LORD was with Joseph… and he prospered.”
‣ Acts 7:9-10 – God was with Joseph though his brothers hated him.
Invitation
“Wisdom” in Scripture is not clever maneuvering but lived awareness of
God’s nearness. Am I cultivating that awareness when circumstances
tighten?
Saul offers Merab, then retracts; offers Michal with a deadly bride price: one hundred Philistine foreskins. (In Semitic culture foreskin trophies proved slain enemies; archaeology: Assyrian bas-reliefs show body-part counts after battle.) Saul’s plot: let Philistines kill David. David, seeing himself “a poor man and lightly esteemed,” brings two hundred. The plan backfires; Saul’s fear “grew even more.”
Hebrew irony – “So the number was fulfilled” (v. 27). The narrator lets us feel the chill: God fulfills Saul’s words, but not Saul’s wishes.
Invitation
Scheming often traps the schemer. Where might I be trying to “manage
outcomes” God has already promised to handle?
Covenant Love
Jonathan’s self-emptying gifts foreshadow Christ, who “emptied himself”
and clothed us with his righteousness (Isa 61:10; 2 Cor 5:21).
Divine Favor vs. Human Fear
When God’s presence rests on David, human systems quake. The same
pattern appears with Joseph, Moses, Esther, Daniel, Peter, and
ultimately Jesus.
Wisdom and Warfare
“Sakal” appears again in 1 Sam 18:30; later it becomes part of messianic
promise (Isa 52:13, “My servant will act wisely”). The wise suffer yet
triumph.
• Chrysostom admired Jonathan’s humility: “The higher he was in
honor, the deeper he bent in love.”
• Bernard of Clairvaux saw Jonathan as the soul, David as Christ; true
friendship is union with the Son.
• Calvin read Saul’s jealousy as warning to leaders who cannot bear
another’s gifts.
• Wesley preached on verse 14, urging believers to “behave wisely in a
perfect way” (Ps 101:2).
• Ahavah (love) vs. Yare (fear) – the chapter
pivots on these two verbs: Jonathan loves, Saul fears.
• Inclusio – vv. 5 and 30 both end with David’s success and public
esteem, bracketing the narrative.
• Repetition – “Saul was afraid” thrice (12, 15, 29) amplifies inner
collapse.
• Hyperbole in the song – “tens of thousands” is idiom, not census.
Suggested Hymn for Meditation:
“Blest Be the Tie That Binds” (John Fawcett, 1782) – a gentle
celebration of covenant fellowship.
Lord of covenant faithfulness,
You knit hearts, disarm fears, and make wisdom grow in hostile
places.
Teach us to lay down our status like Jonathan, to play our instruments
like David, and to trust Your presence more than public praise or human
plots.
Cleanse us from envy, clothe us with love, and fashion in us a wisdom
that shines even when spears are near.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.