Scriptural Highlights

• Jonathan and David make a covenant of friendship. Saul becomes jealous of David and tries to kill him.
• Saul fails in three more attempts to take David's life.
• David and Jonathan renew their covenant of friendship, and Jonathan saves David's life.
• Saul is consumed by hatred for David. David spares Saul's life.

Jonathan & David - 1 Samuel 18:1-16

1. After David killed Goliath, he was taken before Saul.
2. "AND it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul" (18:1).
• WHO WAS JONATHAN?
• The eldest son of Saul, and normally, the heir apparent to the throne.
• First mentioned after the ascension of Saul to the throne. Probably about 30 years of age at this time.
• Verse 2 says that Saul retained David and would not let him return to his father's house. It must have been during this time, that David spent in the home of Saul, that he and Jonathan became close friends.
• Jonathan and David made a covenant of friendship because of their love for each other (18:3).
• "And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle" (18:3).
3. Saul honored David by bringing him into his home and setting him up as head of the army (18:2,5).
4. READ 1 SAMUEL 18:6-9. Saul displeased with the acclaim David received.
• Verse 10 says that "And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul".
• The Joseph Smith Translation corrects this verse, "And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit which was not of God came upon Saul".
• Saul was jealous of David and attempted to take his life.
• "And David avoided out of his presence twice" (18:11).
• "And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him" (18:12).
• "Wherefore when Saul saw that he [David] behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him" (18:15).
5. We find in these verses an interesting contrast in the way that Saul and Jonathan reacted to David.
• MIGHT THERE HAVE BEEN CAUSE FOR JONATHAN TO BE JEALOUS OF DAVID?
• Saul had brought David into their household.
• David was made captain over the armies of Saul.
• David had been anointed king, a position that Jonathan would normally assume upon his father's death.
• WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT JONATHAN WAS NOT JEALOUS OF DAVID?
• Jonathan and David were true friends. Jonathan must have been a man who was pure in heart and rather than display jealosy, he rejoiced in David's success.
• Neal A. Maxwell: "When we are struggling to learn to love, we can have faith in God's developmental plans for others as well as for ourselves. Then we do not feel threatened by those who are our superiors or who are becoming such. The more unselfish we are, the more able we are to find joy in their successes, all the while rejoicing without comparing. In any case, our only valid spiritual competition is with our old selves, not with each other. True love and friendship enable us to keep that perspective. The things about other people that truly matter are their qualities such as love, mercy, justice, and patience, and their service to others." (Not My Will, But Thine, p70)
• WHAT WAS SAUL'S PROBLEM?
• WHY IS IT SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS?
• When one becomes focused on oneself, rather than others this can become a problem. Saul was more concerned with his status among the people rather than the success of a righteous young man. How different things would have been had Saul continued to rejoice in the success of David.
• HOW DO JEALOUSY AND PRIDE AFFECT OUR SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING?
• Neal A. Maxwell: "For us to jettison our jealousies is to stop yet another form of waste, for we cannot go where He is if we worry rather than rejoice over who else will be there. Jousting for position among peers and friends is to waste what could better be used in the battle against the enemy of evil." (Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, p94)
• Ezra Taft Benson: "When pride has a hold our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men's judgement. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod." (Ensign, May 1989, p5)

Saul Fails In His Attempts To Take David's Life - 1 Samuel 18:17-19:18

1. "And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles" (18:17).
• WHY WOULD SAUL, WHO HAD BEEN JEALOUS TO THE POINT OF MURDER, OFFER ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS TO DAVID AS A WIFE?
• "For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him" (18:17).
• He offered his daughter as an incentive for David to take up the fight with the Philistines in hopes that David might be killed in battle.
2. Saul's daughter Merab was given to another, but his daughter Michal loved David (18:19-20).
• Saul then determined to use Michal to lure David into fighting the Philistines (18:21).
• David took Saul up on his offer, took some of his men and slew 200 of the Philistines and returned with the required evidence. Saul was then obligated to give Michal to David as wife (18:27).
• "And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him. And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually" (18:28-29).
3. Saul spoke to Jonathan and all his servants to conspire against David's life (19:1).
• JONATHAN HAD BEEN A FRIEND TO DAVID. WHAT PART DID HE TAKE IN THIS CONSPIRACY?
• He reported the conspiracy to David. Jonathan told David to keep a low profile and he would go out and speak with his father (19:2-3).
• Jonathan kept his word and went out and spoke with his father. He talked Saul out of murdering David. "And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain" (19:6).
• Jonathan was faced with an interesting dilemma of loyalty. Did he side with his father or with his friend? Most importantly, I think he chose to be loyal to the side of right. By choosing to be loyal to correct principles he honored his father and was true to his friend David.
4. One again David went to war with the Philistines and returned with great success (19:8).
• While he sat in Saul's house, Saul attempted to smite David with a javelin, but David fled before Saul could be successful (19:9-10).
• Saul then sent men to David's house to watch for him that he might be slain. David's wife, Michal, assisted David in escaping and then set up a decoy in David's bed to deceive Saul (19:11-18).
• The story of Saul and David provides an interesting window into what pride and jealousy can do to a person if it remains unchecked.

David & Jonathan Renew Their Covenant of Friendship - 1 Samuel 20

• David fled from Naioth and came to Jonathan. David asked Jonathan what he had done to incur the wrath of Saul (20:1). David told Jonathan that "there is but a step between me and death" (20:3).
• Jonathan told David that his Saul would not anything to David without informing Jonathan (20:2).
• Jonathan in a spirit of friendship and love for David said, "Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee" (20:4).
• Jonathan and David renewed their covenant of friendship.
• "So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul" (20:16-17).
• WHAT POWERFUL INFLUENCE AFFECTED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE TWO MEN?
• READ 1 SAMUEL 20:23.
• Faith in the Lord was like a bonding element in this relationship. It took a good relationship and raised it to a higher level.
• One thinks of the Lord and his apostles. It was their love of God that raised their friendship to one of absolute dedication.
• HOW DOES OUR LOVE FOR THE LORD AND OUR FAITH IN HIM INFLUENCE OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS?
• In many instances it is a lubricant of sorts. When difficult circumstances develop, our love for the Lord guides us to a higher road, rather the overreacting to circumstances.
• During my teenage years I went around with several LDS friends. We were not always perfect, but we had common goals. We each desired to serve a mission, marry in the temple, and remain actively involved in the gospel. Those friends were a powerful influence in my life. It was our common faith in the Lord that helped us help each other during those formative years. The majority of us served on missions and almost all of us remain active in the Church. Friendship was the most powerful influence on my life during those years and thank goodness that friendship was guided by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• IF WE PLACE LOYALTY TO GOD FIRST IN OUR LIVES, WHAT WILL WE DO IF OUR FRIENDS OR ASSOCIATES DO THINGS THAT ARE WRONG? WHAT WILL WE DO IF OUR FRIENDS ASK US TO DO THINGS THAT ARE WRONG?
• READ 1 SAMUEL 20:30-33. Saul reacts to Jonathan's defense of David.
• It must have been difficult for Jonathan to oppose his own father and yet he made the choice of choosing right.

Saul Is Consumed By Hatred For David - 1 Samuel 23-24

1. After enquiring of the Lord, David went to the town of Keilah to fight against the Philistines.
• David "smote them with a great slaughter" and saved the inhabitants of Keilah (23:1-5).
2. READ 1 SAMUEL 23:7-10. Saul to pursue David at Keilah.
• Saul was so beset with jealousy and hatred for David, that he was willing to destroy one of the cities of Judah in pursuit.
3. WHAT CHANGED SAUL FROM A RIGHTEOUS KING TO SOMEONE WHO WAS WILLING TO DESTROY AN ENTIRE CITY IN PURSUIT OF DAVID?
• Joseph Fielding Smith: "Our misery, poverty and jealousy come because of selfishness and greed and in the failure to heed the word of the Lord." (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:202)
• As you recall, prior to going up against the Philistines, Saul had grown impatient with Samuel and had taken it upon himself to make the burnt offering (1 Samuel 13:9). At a later time when Saul went up to battle against the Amalekites, he did not obey the Lord when he allowed the king to live and spared the best of the livestock.
• By commiting these sins, Saul had put himself on a path that put himself in opposition to David and the will of the Lord. When we are disobedient to the Lord, unless we repent, we put ourselves on a dangerous road. Saul is a perfect example.
• Consider the case of William E. McLellin, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve when it was first organized in 1835. Pride got the best of him and set him on path not so different from that of Saul.
• "On Friday, May 11, 1838, he came before a Bishop's court, in Far West, Mo., where he said he had no confidence in the presidency of the Church; consequently, he had quit praying and keeping the commandments of the Lord, and indulged himself in his sinful lusts." (LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:82)
• He took an active part with the mob during the Missouri attrocities.
• While Joseph was in prison, with others, he robbed the Prophet's home and stable of considerable property (LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:83).
• While Joseph and some of the others were imprisoned at Richmond, Missouri, McLellin went to the sheriff and asked for the privilege of flogging the Prophet (DHC 3:215).
4. WHY ARE JEALOUSY AND HATRED SO CONSUMING?
• When we commit sin and fail to repent, we lose the companionship of the spirit. When that happens, we allow unsavory influences to direct our life. The spirit is no longer there to warn us of a tendency towards jealousy and hatred. As we have seen in the story of Saul, it consumes one's life. The story of Cain and Abel is another good example. Cain lost his eternal soul due to his jealousy and hatred.
• John Taylor: "...if we allow covetousness, pride, envy, jealousy, hatred, malice, lasciviousness, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, or any other influence to corrupt and lead us astray from the light of truth and the sweet consoling influences of the Spirit of God, we shall get into darkness, and then, as I said before, if the light that is within us becomes darkness, how great is that darkness!" (JD 26:133)
• George Q. Cannon: "Whence is it that anger comes? You will see a man all at once seized with a spirit of anger; another time you will see a person seized with a spirit of jealousy, or some other evil influence, infuriated sometimes, so much so that he or she is transformed. You have seen people's faces completely changed by the spirit that takes possession of them. They cannot see that power; but it is undoubtedly a spiritual entity. We may not be conscious of it, but it takes possession of us if we yield to it." (Collected Discourses, Vol 4, August 26, 1894)
5. HOW CAN WE RID OURSELVES OF JEALOUSY AND HATRED?
• David O. McKay: "...jealousy, hatred, envy, animosity—all such evils you must overcome by suppression. That is where your control comes in. Suppress that anger! Suppress that jealousy, that envy! They are all injurious to the spirit anyhow." (Gospel Ideals, p356)
• David O. McKay: "As men of the priesthood, as women of the Church, [we have the responsibility] to make our homes such as will radiate to our neighbors harmony, love, community duties, loyalty. Let our neighbors see it and hear it. Never must there be expressed in a Latter-day Saint home an oath, a condemnatory term, an expression of anger or jealousy or hatred. Control it Do not express it You do what you can to produce peace and harmony, no matter what you may suffer." (CR, Apr. 1963)
• George Q. Cannon: "The Lord our God has sent us here to get experience in these things so that we may know the good from the evil and be able to close our hearts against the evil…. It is true that some have greater power of resistance than others, but everyone has the power to close his heart against doubt, against darkness, against unbelief, against depression, against anger, against hatred, against jealousy, against malice, against envy. God has given this power unto all of us, and we can gain still greater power by calling upon Him for that which we lack. If it were not so, how could we be condemned for giving way to wrong influences?" (Gospel Truth, 1:19)
• George W. McCune (one time president of the Eastern States Mission): "Let us seek earnestly to be truly humble, have a desire to have our souls fed. If we do this, I know that the Lord will bless us. When we are in this attitude, there is no room in our hearts for hatred or for jealousy or anything of that kind; there is true love in our hearts. And when we get true love in our hearts we are being fed with the bread of life." (CR, Oct. 1919)
6. When David learned that Saul was pursuing him, he took his men and departed from the city of Keilah.
• "And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand" (23:14).
• "And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God" (23:16).
• What an amazing contrast between father and son. Saul is consumed with his hatred for David. Jonathan comes to David and strengthens "his hand in God". One has driven the spirit from his life and the other lives by the spirit and blesses his friend.
7. The opportunity arose for David to slay Saul, but he did not. WHY?
• READ 1 SAMUEL 24:10-12.
• David certainly had cause to defend himself against this man who was consumed with killing him, but he said, "The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand" (24:15).
• WHAT DOES DAVID'S EXAMPLE TEACH US ABOUT REVENGE AND ABOUT RESPONDING TO THOSE WHO DO EVIL TO US?
• Spencer W. Kimball: "The spirit of revenge, of retaliation, of bearing a grudge, is entirely foreign to the gospel of the gentle, forgiving Jesus Christ…." (Teachings of SWK, p105)
• Joseph F. Smith: "We carry to the world the olive branch of peace. We present to the world the law of God, the word of the Lord, the truth, as it has been revealed in the latter day for the redemption of the dead and for the salvation of the living. We bear no malice nor evil toward the children of men. The spirit of forgiveness pervades the hearts of the Saints of God, and they do not cherish a desire or feeling of revenge toward their enemies or those who hurt or molest them or seek to make them afraid; but on the contrary, the Spirit of the Lord has possession of their spirits, of their souls, and of their thoughts; they forgive all men, and they carry no malice in their hearts toward any, no matter what they have done. They say in their hearts, let God judge between us and our enemies, and as for us, we forgive them, and we bear no malice toward any." (Gospel Doctrine, p74)
8. READ 1 SAMUEL 24:17-19. Saul's response to David.

Summary

Throughout the stories contained in this lesson we observe the amazing contrast between Saul and Jonathan. Jonathan saw the good in David and became a loyal, loving friend. He was willing to stand on the side of right and oppose his wicked father. No person could ask for a better friend that Jonathan. Saul had allowed sin to enter his life and felt threatened by the rise of David. Rather than befriend this noble man, Saul became consumed with jealousy, envy, and hatred. He pursued David's life. He was a man who had lost control. As Jonathan learned, David was not an enemy. Saul only destroyed his own life by treating David as an enemy instead of a friend. We should follow the example of Jonathan and treat the actions of Saul as a solemn warning.

Next Week

Lesson 24: 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51

Additional Reading: 2 Samuel 2-10