๐ 1 Samuel 20 Key Summary ๐ The Chapter That Reveals Why David Had to Die
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In chapter 19, Saul tries to kill David, but David escapes because the Spirit of the Lord protects him from danger.
๐ Key Summary of 1 Samuel 20
1. The Covenant Between David and Jonathan (Verses 14–15)
“While I am still alive, show me the kindness of the Lord, that I may not die.”
“And when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth...”
“Do not ever cut off your kindness from my house.”
๐ Although the Bible does not explicitly say this, the content of the covenant between Jonathan and David makes us wonder whether Jonathan also recognized that David would one day become king.
The content of this covenant is very significant. ๐
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2. David Asks Why He Should Die and What His Sin Is
The very first verse of chapter 20 shows David coming from Ramah-Naioth and meeting Jonathan. David asks why Saul is seeking his life.
“What have I done?”
“What is my iniquity?”
“What is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
Jonathan does not answer by identifying any sin David has committed. Instead, he says:
→ “Far from it! You shall not die.”
๐ Saul's Answer: He Reveals to Jonathan Why David Must Die (Verse 31) ๐
“For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established.”
Then Saul says:
“Therefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
๐ After Saul had sinned before God, he probably kept Samuel's words in his mind:
“Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
→ 1 Samuel 15:23, 26
๐ How Saul Came to Suspect That David Would Become King — 1 (Chapter 18)
After David killed Goliath with the Lord's help...
When the women came out singing and celebrating David, Saul said:
“What more can he have but the kingdom?”
From that day on, Saul kept a close eye on David.
(1 Samuel 18:8–9)
Saul tried to kill David with a spear, but the Lord was with David, and Saul became afraid of him. (18:12)
Saul also tried to use his daughter as a trap so that David would be killed by the Philistines.
But Saul realized again that the Lord was with David. (18:28)
๐ How Saul Came to Suspect That David Would Become King — 2 (Chapter 19) ๐
Saul learned that David had gone to Ramah-Naioth.
→ Ramah-Naioth was where Samuel was!
✔️ Before Saul was established as king over Israel, he himself had been anointed by Samuel.
✔️ If Saul knew that he had been rejected by the Lord, he could clearly understand that Samuel might be involved in anointing the next king.
✔️ And then another suspicion arose: David was close to Samuel and had fled precisely to Ramah.
Saul sent messengers three times to capture David.
But each time:
→ The Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they prophesied.
When Saul himself went there, the same thing happened:
→ The Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, and he also prophesied.
๐ In 1 Samuel 19, the Bible records that the messengers prophesied and that Saul also prophesied. But it does not tell us what they prophesied.
Could this omission itself be a kind of “treasure of God's humor”? ๐
→ What exactly did they prophesy?
Perhaps we do not even need to answer that question. Everyone can imagine what it might have been. ๐
✔️ Could the events recorded in verses 23–24 suggest that, through this experience, Saul's suspicion that David had been chosen to become king turned into certainty? ๐
✔️ We do not know the content of the prophecy, but through this event, it is possible to think that Saul's suspicion became confirmation.
Conclusion ๐
1 Samuel 20 is a chapter that shows that David had committed no sin deserving death. ๐
At the same time, it is the chapter in which the real reason Saul wanted to kill David becomes clear. ๐
After David killed Goliath, Saul...
began to suspect that David might become the next king, especially because Saul himself had been rejected;
continued to watch David and tried to confirm his suspicions, particularly in chapter 18;
and through the events of chapter 19, appears to have become convinced that David was the one who could take the throne.
๐ And in chapter 20, Saul finally tells his own son Jonathan:
“As long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established.”
In other words, Saul was not saying that David should die because David had committed some particular sin.
He believed that as long as David remained alive, his own kingdom and the continuation of his family on the throne could not stand. ๐
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