Monday, March 11
Read 1 Samuel 18
Think About It:
The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Jonathan had to be at least 20 years old to be in his father’s army, and the fact that Jonathan was already commanding 1/3 that army and had won 2 great victories indicates that he was a seasoned soldier. Jonathan was Saul’s oldest son, destined for the throne of Israel, and the Lord had already given it to David. When Jonathan gave his official garments and his armor to David, making him a friend and equal, Jonathan was acknowledging that David would one day take his place.
Jewish men had to be at least 20 years old before they could go to war, but David was probably only 18 when he was made a high-ranking officer in the Jewish army. From the beginning of his new assignment, David found himself in a life-threatening conflict with King Saul. David didn’t create problems for Saul, he revealed the deep-rooted problems that were already there. David was an honest man of faith, but Saul was a deceitful, scheming man of the world. With great humility David had accepted his appointment as Israel’s next king, while Saul was almost paranoid as he tried to protect his throne. God had abandoned Saul but had given His Spirit’s power to David, and David moved from victory to victory as he led Saul’s troops.
- Think of the times in your life where you could see the hand of God upon you. In your victory, did you give God the Glory?
- Were there times when you let pride and jealousy get in the way of congratulating others when the Lord gave them victories?
Saul missed his opportunity to give God the Glory and congratulate David in fighting the Lord’s battles and giving Israel victories. Saul remained David’s enemy until he died on the battlefield. Jealousy let the root of bitterness in and Saul never conquered it.
Family Time:
God had taken the kingdom away from Saul because of Saul’s disobedience. God’s Spirit had left him. Now, as he watched David, he saw that the Lord was with David, and David had the respect of the people, as well as the love and friendship of his own son and daughter. Fear began to grow in Saul as he realized that David may be the one who would be king soon.
- As Saul’s fear began to grow, how did it change his relationship with David?
- What did the people say about David that made Saul so angry, and jealous? (verses 7-9)
- Have you ever struggled with jealousy?
- When you are jealous of someone, how do you feel toward that person? Does it change the way you treat them?
- When someone else gets praised for something, or does well or wins something…instead of getting jealous, what could you do?
- Jealousy causes much damage – in you and in others! Let’s ask the Lord to give us contentment and love, so we can bless those we may feel jealous toward!
