Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?” When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?” When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight. David was delighted to accept the offer. – 1 Samuel 18:22-26a (NLT)
Looking back at Saul’s beginning and then trying to reconcile everything that has happened up to this point in Saul’s story, the only thought that I’m left with is: “Oh, what might’ve been…” Because right after Samuel anointed Saul as king, we read: “As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart” (1 Samuel 10:9). Not an old refurbished heart, but a new one! The Lord was with him! And there was so much promise waiting to be realized. After that initial battle against the Ammonites, Saul had completely won the people over.
But look at the sad state of affairs now some several years later. A fearful and pathetic man clinging to power, with whatever means he can muster, is so desperate that he’s decided to betray his daughter’s heart for his own gain. Nothing more clearly reveals how far down the dark path Saul has gone than his willingness to sacrifice Michal’s happiness to preserve his own status and position. What a horrible, horrible man!
Yet reading further, we learn that David was delighted to accept the offer! The foreskins of 100 Philistine warriors seemed like a bargain to him! “That’s all you want for your daughter’s hand in marriage? I can have those delivered to you by this time tomorrow! And I’ll even throw in an extra 100 to cover the wine at the wedding!” As if we couldn’t paint a more contrasting portrait of who David was compared to the man who was trying to kill him…
But as evil as Saul was, he wasn’t beyond God’s forgiveness. One of the unmentioned tragedies in Saul’s story is the numerous opportunities he had to repent and recommit his life to serving the Lord. No, he wouldn’t have remained king, but he still could’ve become a faithful servant to God and his eventual successor to the throne. But that’s not how it would unfold.
This dark path that Saul had chosen wasn’t just an evil scheme against David. David was the least of his worries. Saul was defying the Almighty God. And if we allow fear, jealousy and pride to drive our decision making, we will surely find ourselves going down this same dark path of trying to manipulate situations and exploiting people for our own personal gain, too.
Here’s an interesting side note: Years later after becoming king, David himself would plot an evil scheme nearly identical to the one Saul conspired against him. But unlike Saul’s, David’s scheme would actually work. It involved his affair with one of his soldier’s wives, and David would have her husband killed in battle at the hands of the Philistines. You can read more about that in 2 Samuel Chapter 11.
Who says that reading the Bible is boring? People who clearly haven’t read it. 😉
Former Blackout Artist 