1 SAMUEL 18
3 Outlines
1 Samuel 18:1-4
FRIENDS
The expression "Birds of a feather flock
together." is true in a negative sense.
Those who are less than honorable seem to find each other and hang out
together. However this expression is
also true in a good sense.
Honorable people manage to find honorable friends.
(You might want to quote several passages from
proverbs about friends.)
After the death of Goliath two men of God formed a fast
friendship.
The older of the two men, Jonathan is really
spotlighted as responsible for this great friendship between he and David. There are four qualities of friendship that I
want us to see that were true of Jonathan and David.
1. THEY WERE SOUL BROTHERS - Vs. 1 - "...the soul
of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David..." (This was a binding
together of two people.) We are bound
together in the same body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
John 17:20-21
2. THEY WERE SOUL LOVERS - Vs. 2 - "...and Jonathan
loved him as his own soul." (John
13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 13)
3. THEY WERE SOUL SUPPORTERS - Vs. 3 - "Then
Jonathan and David made a covenant..." (This was a commitment to bear the
burdens of the other. Jonathan protected
David from Saul. He also encouraged him in 1 Samuel 23:16. See Galatians 6:2)
4. THEY WERE SOUL SHARERS - Vs. 4 - Jonathan gave of
what he had to David. As Christians we
are to be ready to share in the needs of other Christians. Also, we are to share more than money. We can
share our time, our talents, our emotions, and our help.
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1 Samuel 18:1-11
"AFTER GOLIATH" OR "NEVER THE
SAME"
When David defeated Goliath his life changed
completely.
He had to adapt to a new lifestyle. He was no longer the shepherd boy taking care
of his father's sheep, but a national hero.
There are times in our lives, when we will be forced to adjust to
changes in our life styles as well.
COVENANT WITH JONATHAN - Vss. 1, 3-4
David had a new friendship based on love!
CHANGE OF SERVICE - Vss. 2, 5
Saul would not permit David to go back to care for his
father's sheep. He was now be in the
service of King
Saul. There are times when our Lord will
require us to change our place or type of service.
We should make the change joyfully.
CHALLENGE OF PRAISE - Vss. 6-7
David is now the "matinee idol" of
It is important that when we receive praise that we
don't let it go to our heads, or actually believe that was said about us.
Vs. 14 tells us that David "behaved himself
wisely in all his ways."
The praise did
not have a negative effect on Him.
CONFLICT WITH SAUL - Vss. 8-11
Saul was not happy with the praise that David
received.
He immediately figured out that David was to be the
next king.
David's life certainly changed, and he had to be on
the alert against possible attacks.
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1 Samuel 18:5-16 etc.
LONG LIVE THE KING?
"Long live the
king!" - a common and familiar blessing for a
ruling monarch.
"Long live the
king!" - words wishing someone in authority a
long and happy reign.
"Long live the
king!" - easy words to say when the king is good,
and loving, and kind!
"Long live the
king!" - but what if the king is a tyrant? What
if the king has a personal hatred for me? What if the king seems to have a
personal vendetta against me?
I might start to
question and say, "Long live the king?"
David was in this position.
David had already been
secretly anointed king over
Although Saul was still
on the throne, David and a few select people knew David was the next king.
David had played
soothing music for King Saul when Saul was visited by an evil spirit. He had
also been the kings' armor bearer. 1 Samuel 16:14-23
David became a national
hero when he, with God's help, defeated Goliath. 1 Samuel 17
David became a good
friend of the King's son, Jonathan. 1 Samuel 18:1-4
Vss. 5-9 - A problem
arose. Saul knew that his days as king were numbered (1 Samuel
Saul became the enemy of
David when, in his jealousy, he figured out that David would be the next king.
David was a faithful,
loyal servant, who wasn't looking to take over. David
was just striving to serve his God, and serve the king that God had placed over
him. Vss. 10-12 tells us of the beginnings of a vicious assault by Saul on the
life of David!
As we study these
Scriptures we want to place more emphasis on the reaction of David than on the
actions of Saul. We can't control how people treat us, but we can, with God's
help, control our reactions.
I want us to think of a
"king" as anyone who God has placed over us. It might be a parent, a husband,
a boss, a teacher, a leader, or a pastor.
Sometimes these leaders will seem to be against us, and we are going to
have to react to unfair treatment. There
will be times when somebody over us has a personal vendetta against us.
The way David reacted to
Saul, is the way we should react to the
"kings" in our lives.
DAVID RETREATED WHEN HE
HAD TO
Vs. 10 - Saul threw a
spear, and David got out of the way. David escaped again in 19:8-11.
20:1 - David had been
faithful, but was forced to run.
Sometimes we need to
"retreat" before our kings. Often this retreat may mean humbling
ourselves before those in authority over us when something is not our
fault. My son had to do this in high
school when a teacher was picking on him. He apologized because I insisted. The
end result later was peace between him and the teacher.
There are times when we
can retreat to get out from another's authority. However, we must be careful
that we are doing this according to God's will. Retreat should only be
practiced after every effort for reconciliation has been exhausted.
DAVID NEVER RETALIATED
AGAINST SAUL
David had slain a giant,
and defeated the Philistine enemy on more than once occasion. But even when
Saul was at David's mercy, David never got "even". 1 Samuel 24 &
26
May we practice Matthew
5:43-48 and Romans 12:14, 17-21
DAVID RESPECTED SAUL'S
AUTHORITY
God raised Paul up. God
put Saul in power. David allowed God to remove Saul from power in God's perfect
time. As long as God allowed Saul to reign, David never questioned Saul's right
to the throne.
There are times when you
will be under a tyrant. May sure you let God do the removing, and only do what
is Biblically right. Don't take matters into your own hands.
DAVID REMAINED LOYAL
Even when David appeared
to join the opposing Philistines, he remained loyal to his King and to
Even when we can not
agree with all that a person does, let us strive to remain loyal as much as
possible.
DAVID RESPONDED WITH
FORGIVENESS
One day God removed
Saul. David indicates his forgiveness of Saul by his response to his death. 2
Samuel 1:17-27
May we remember our
obligation to forgive those who have hurt us! Matthew 6:12, Ephesians 4:31-32
May we from the bottom
of our hearts exclaim, "LONG LIVE THE KING!"