1 Samuel 19:18 - Meaning and Application

Here we see David’s place of refuge. After escaping from his own house by night, he did not run to Bethlehem to his relatives, or to any of the cities of Israel that had once praised him. He did not try to win people over for his own safety. Instead, he went straight to Samuel and told him everything Saul had done to him (1 Samuel 19:18).

He went to Samuel for three reasons. First, Samuel was the man who had given him hope of the crown. David’s faith in that promise was starting to weaken, and he was in danger of saying in his haste, “All men are liars” (Psalm 116:11). So he went to Samuel for the kind of encouragement that would steady his faith. By running to Samuel, he was really making God his refuge and trusting in the shadow of his wings. Where else can a good person feel safe?

Second, Samuel was a prophet, so he was best able to tell David what to do in this trouble. The night before, David had already lifted up his prayer to God. Now he took the first chance to wait on Samuel and receive God’s direction and teaching. If we want peaceful answers to our prayers, we must keep our ears open to God’s word.

Third, Samuel had a group of prophets with him, and David could join them in praising God. That kind of worship would give him the best comfort possible in his distress. He had found little rest or joy in Saul’s court, so he went to seek it in Samuel’s fellowship. Those who live close to God have the best peace this world can offer, and David had turned to that comfort in his trouble (Psalm 27:4-6).

David and Samuel stayed in Naioth, where the school of the prophets was, in Ramah. It was like a protected place, one the Philistines themselves would not disturb (1 Samuel 10:10). But Saul found out through his spies (1 Samuel 19:19), so he sent officers to seize David (1 Samuel 19:20). When they did not bring him back, he sent more. When they also returned empty-handed, he sent a third group (1 Samuel 19:21). When he heard nothing from them either, he went himself (1 Samuel 19:22).

Saul was so eager for David’s blood and so restless in his evil plan that, though one providence after another had stopped him, he still could not see that David was under Heaven’s special protection. It was beneath a king to go on such an errand, but persecutors will lower themselves to anything if it feeds their hatred. Saul set aside all public business just to hunt David.

How was David rescued when he was just about to fall, like his own lamb before the lions? Not by David killing the lion, as he had done before, and not by Elijah’s kind of rescue, when God burned up the messengers from heaven. Instead, God turned the lions into lambs for the moment.

When Saul’s messengers came into the company where David was among the prophets, the Spirit of God came upon them, and they prophesied, that is, they joined the others in praising God. Instead of taking David, they themselves were taken hold of. In this way God protected David, because the men either became so caught up in prophetic ecstasy that they forgot why they came, or they were brought into such a good frame of mind that they could not go through with such a wicked act.

God also honored the sons of the prophets and the fellowship of believers. He showed that he can, when he chooses, put fear into even the worst people through the signs of his presence among his faithful people, and make them admit that God is truly with them (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). This also shows the value of godly gatherings, and how powerful their influence can be on minds that seemed closed to it. Where should we expect the Spirit’s work more than in the gatherings of God’s people?

God also showed his power over human hearts. The one who made the heart and tongue can direct both to serve his own purpose. Balaam was made to speak blessings on Israel, though he wanted to curse them. Some Jewish writers even thought these messengers foretold David’s rise to the throne.

Saul himself was also seized by the spirit of prophecy before he reached the place. One might have thought that such a bad man was beyond being turned into a prophet. Yet when God chose this way to protect David, Saul had hardly come, as Bishop Hall says, within the smell of the smoke of Naioth before he began to prophesy like his messengers did (1 Samuel 19:23). He took off his royal robe and his war gear, either because they were too fine or too heavy for this service, and then fell into a trance, or rapture, that lasted all that day and night.

The saints in Damascus were rescued from the New Testament Saul by a change in his spirit, but that was a very different kind of change. That change was saving and lasting. This one was only astonishing, and it lasted for a day. Many people have great gifts and no grace. They may prophesy in Christ’s name and still be rejected by him (Matthew 7:22-23).

Now the old saying comes up again: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10:12). The saying meant one thing before, but now it means the opposite. He is rejected by God and driven by an evil spirit, and yet he is among the prophets.