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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 18:17 - 18:30
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Saul Plans to have David Removed
v. 17. And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife, in fufilling the promise which was well known to all the soldiers of the army, 1Sa_17:25; only be thou valiant for me, distinguished for courage, and fight the Lord's battles. This was not a condition, but an obligation laid upon David, Saul taking this opportunity to impress the younger man with his zeal for the people of God and with the necessity of thwarting the evil intentions of the heathen neighbors. "But behind this proper language of Canaan was hid Saul's cunning and wickedness towards David. " (Lange. ) For Saul said, namely, within himself, this was the thought which urged him on, Let not mine hand be upon him, it would have been a dangerous matter for him to take the life of David outright, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him; Saul hoped that David would at some time fall in battle, and that the desired end would thus be obtained.
v. 18. And David said unto Saul, in true modesty, without the least suspicion of Saul's guile, Who am I? and what is my life or my father's family in Israel that I should be son-in-law to the king? David implied that neither his own person nor his position in life, nor his family connections made him worthy of the honor offered him by the king.
v. 19. But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David that she was given unto Adriel, the Meholathite, to wife. It was simply a whim of Saul's which caused him to break his promise to David, for he grew more capricious as the years went by.
v. 20. And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him, this turn of affairs promised to fit well with his plans.
v. 21. And Saul said, I will give him her that she may be a snare to him, serve as a bait or lure to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him; he had a scheme in mind which would surely be successful. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law in the one of the twain, literally, "The second time thou shalt become my son-in-law," namely, first by the betrothal to Merab, the second time by the actual marriage to Michal.
v. 22. And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, as if they did it without the king's knowledge, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee; now, therefore, be the king's son-in-law. The offer was pure hypocrisy, and all the more revolting since it was a part of the king's scheme to destroy David through Michal's love.
v. 23. And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David, remembering his first experience with Saul, said, Seemeth it to you a light thing, a small matter, to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed? His experience in the matter of Merab had impressed upon him once more the great distance between his station and the honored position for which he was supposed to strive, and being a poor man, it was hardly possible for him to pay the dowry or morning gift expected of a suitor.
v. 24. And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David, stating the objections advanced by David.
v. 25. And Saul said, still with the same anxiety to attain his object, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, taken, of course, from their dead bodies, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines; he was sure that this scheme to put David out of the way could not fail.
v. 26. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law, especially since he was to win Michal by a heroic achievement; and the days were not expired, that is, the period set by Saul for obtaining the morning-gift.
v. 27. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, the thousand of whom he was commander, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, counted them out in full number, not only those required, but the hundred extra ones as a free gift, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife. His hostile schemes being thwarted once more, he was obliged to fulfil his promise.
v. 28. And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, it was so obvious that he could not close his eyes against the fact, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him; even the fact of her love for David was a thorn in the king's side.
v. 29. And Saul was yet the more afraid of David, for it was evident that God shielded the young man against his wicked designs; and Saul became David's enemy continually, all the days of his life.
v. 30. Then the princes of the Philistines went forth, in campaigns to overthrow the power of Israel; and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, he always exercised prudent judgment and thus had success in his undertakings, so that his name was much set by, he was highly thought of by all the people. All the upright in heart honor and love the faithful servants of God and acknowledge the blessings which the Lord gives to His people through them.