Day 22: 1 Samuel 18:5–16

Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” (v. 8).

In stark contrast to Jonathan’s self-sacrifice and solemn allegiance, Saul regarded David as the ultimate threat. The praise of the people that was directed at David planted a seed of jealousy in Saul that would express itself with a vengeance over many chapters and years.

Motivated by jealousy, Saul sent David to fight with the army. The king hoped young David would come to harm, yet David effectively performed the duties Saul assigned to him. As he came in from battle, the women of Israel sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (v. 7).

A man as big in character as Saul stood in stature could have rejoiced with David, but Saul was no such man. The words galled him. He decided it would be only a matter of time until David took his kingdom.

So the next day Saul tried to kill David. As the loyal harpist played for his master, Saul threw a spear in an attempt to pin David to the wall, but David avoided Saul’s attacks twice.

The Hebrew word for the kind of anger Saul experienced is informative: charah—“to burn, be kindled, glow with anger, be incensed, grow indignant; to be zealous, act zealously.” Unlike some of its synonyms, charah points to the fire or heat of the anger just after it has been ignited.10 Charah captures the moment a person explodes with anger—the moment anger is ignited before any sense of control takes over, before a rational thought can be processed.

Rarely do we accomplish anything profitable at the moment we become angry. Actions or words immediately following the ignition of anger are almost always regrettable. Moments like the one charah describes are exactly the reason I never want to approach a day without praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Through the life of Saul, we see a portrait of what our lives might be like if the Holy Spirit either departed or was quenched in us. No thanks!