Ep 598 – 1 Samuel 18:17-30

Saul had a love-hate relationship with David. At least, it started out that way. But it wasn’t long before any love for David was replaced by a jealousy-fueled, fear induced hatred. He saw David as a threat and was determined to rid himself of this winner of the peoples’ choice award. And it’s amazing the lengths Saul went to in his efforts to eliminate any possibility of David becoming the next king of Israel. He had tried to kill him. He tried relocating him. And, as we will see in 1 Samuel 18:17-30, Saul will try to take advantage of David’s unwavering allegiance, by deceiving him and exposing him to life-threatening situations. And yet, Saul would see all his efforts fail because God had plans for David. He was the Lord’s anointed. But that doesn’t mean all was going to go well for David or that his life would be trouble-free. A big part of what God was doing was preparing David for the day when he would assume the throne of Israel. These next months and years of his life were going to be difficult, but necessary. For him to be the kind of king God desired, David was going to have to endure God’s intensive training program for kings.