What happensPermalink
Saul escalates his attempts to kill David. He orders Jonathan to strike him down, but Jonathan warns David and persuades Saul to relent. After another of David’s military victories, Saul again tries to kill him with a spear. When that fails, he sends assassins to David’s house, but Michal helps her husband escape. David flees to Samuel at Ramah. When Saul sends messengers, and eventually comes himself, each is overtaken by the Spirit of God and begins to prophesy, unable to harm David.
Why it mattersPermalink
Saul’s rejection by God deepens as he turns even his family into protectors of David. The king of Israel is shown to be powerless before God’s word and Spirit. His final attempt to arrest David ends in helplessness and humiliation, showing that no earthly authority can overrule God’s anointed.
Key versePermalink
And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.