And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambours, with joy, and with triangles.
David has killed the Philistine, and the army is marching home. The song the women sing that day will make David famous — and it will turn the king against him.
The people who now sing had been afraid. One writer follows that change from fear to joy, and what it points forward to.
Israel celebrated this great victory with "singing and dancing" when "David returned from striking down the Philistine" (1 Sam. 18:6). Hearts that had just been full of fear were now full of joy. The women were right to give the praise to David. They answered one another as they played: "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." David's victory was only a faint picture of the victory won by his Greater Son. He brought the devil and his power to nothing. And He has made a people who are set free from the fear of death, and who praise and worship Him.
The crowd goes out to meet King Saul, yet the song they sing puts someone else first. That was not disrespect; it was accuracy.
The women, more sensitive by nature, grasped the simple truth and said it out loud. It was not that they failed to honour the king. But they gave honour to the one who deserved it. They sensed who the instrument of Israel's great deliverance really was.
Everyone is glad except the man the crowd came out to greet.
The army was thankful to meet such a joyful welcome. Everyone shared the gladness except one man. His heart was full of bitter jealousy against the man God had chosen to win this glorious victory. The poor, miserable king stood outside the joy that everyone else shared. Soon he turned that happy scene into one of deepening distress and sorrow.
Another writer names the root of it: the wish to be noticed.
He had not learnt to forget himself and rejoice to see the work done by another. It is the work of grace to be able to do this. By nature we all like to be something or do something — to be looked at and thought of. That was Saul. He was full of his own importance, so he could hardly stand the songs of the young women of Israel… Saul could not stand the thought of being second.
This is not the first time women lead the singing after an enemy falls. One writer sets this scene beside two others.
Each of these events shows a different side of the Lord's victory over Satan. But they all share one striking feature: the women see how great the triumph is. At the defeat of Pharaoh, "Miriam… took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing"… At the defeat of Sisera, Deborah sings, "to the LORD I will sing"… This is a beautiful display of God's grace. The woman was the first to fall for Satan's tricks, and the woman is a picture of the Church — the Bride of Christ, made up of all who have believed the gospel of our salvation. The angels must rejoice at Satan's overthrow. But we, who have been fooled by his lies and have known the bitterness of his slavery, can enter into the Lord's triumph over him most truly.
The women sing to each other, back and forth. One writer sees more in that detail than a musical style.
In verses 6 and 7 we see the women coming out of all the cities of Israel… what stands out is their shared appreciation of David in their song. "The women sang to one another" — there was no disagreement — every heart was full of the sense that David came first… This is personal devotion to Christ, and the Spirit's inward work producing complete agreement of mind and heart as they say how supremely worthy Christ is.
This burst of gladness does not last long. One writer sees in it a preview of something far larger.
At this moment there is a bright gleam. The army has won, and the women are full of joy. It is only a sample of what the Messiah will do when He comes to reign… Here is a scene of joy and celebration. It gives a glimpse of the future, when all Israel will return with singing.
- Victory. The dancing starts because the Philistine is dead. Joy replaces the fear that had filled Israel.
- Welcome. The people stream out of every city with tambourines. Their gladness is public, musical and shared.
- Credit. The women still honour the king. But they give the credit to the man God used to deliver Israel.
- Envy. The self-important king cannot bear being second. He turns a day of celebration into the start of deepening trouble.
- Preview. Writers see here a small picture of Christ's victory. It also points to the day when all Israel returns with singing.
And the women answered [one another] as they played, and said, Saul hath smitten his thousands, And David his ten thousands.
Women came out of the towns of Israel to meet the returning army, and their song put David's name above the king's. The same words that carried the nation's joy planted the seed of Saul's hatred.
The celebration follows a whole campaign, not just the fight with Goliath.
Verse 6 speaks of a time that was evidently later. David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistines, as the margin reads. This was not simply his defeat of Goliath. Apparently David had been sent out and accomplished a clear victory in which Saul had little or no part. The women came to celebrate the victory with singing and dancing. In Saul's presence they sang that Saul had struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands. That was not exactly diplomatic. The tide of popular opinion was evidently turning in David's direction, and this alarmed and aggravated Saul. Samuel had told Saul that God would give his kingdom to another (1 Samuel 15:28), and Saul sees the signs that David may very well be the man. This was another opportunity for Saul to step down willingly and give the kingdom to David. Instead he watched David suspiciously for any sign that he might want the throne.
The women were not snubbing the king.
The women, having more sensitive spirits, according to their nature, seized and spoke the simple truth. It was not that they failed to honour the king, but they certainly paid honour to the one to whom honour was due. They felt who was the instrument of the mighty deliverance in Israel.
The verse says the women answered one another.
In verses 6 and 7 we see the women coming out of all the cities of Israel. What is so clear is the shared appreciation of David in their song. "They answered one another" — there was no disagreement — every affection filled with the sense of David's pre-eminence. Beloved, what an atmosphere to be in!
Writers see in David's homecoming a picture of a greater triumph.
This great victory was celebrated "when David returned from striking down the Philistine" with "singing and dancing" (1 Sam. 18:6). There was joy in hearts that had recently been full of fear. The women rightly gave the praise to David, answering one another as they played: "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." David's victory was only a faint foreshadowing of the victory of his Greater Son. He brought the devil and his power to nothing, and has produced a people delivered from the fear of death who praise and worship Him.
The song cost Saul nothing except first place, and that was the one thing he could not give up.
Very different were the feelings with which Saul regarded the person and work of David. He had not learned to forget himself and rejoice to see the work done by another. It is the work of grace to be able to do this. We all naturally like to be or to do something — to be looked at and thought of. So it was with Saul. He was a self-important man, so he could hardly bear the songs of the women of Israel: "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Saul could not stand the idea of being second.
Another writer looks at what Saul's first anger was aimed at.
This is not yet irritation against David. It is irritation at people's opinion, which was lifting David up and lowering the king. And it came at the very moment when Jonathan's faith was sacrificing everything for the beloved one. This is because the flesh can never bear being nothing in Christ's presence.
What began as a bruised ego did not stay small.
Let us now pass on to Saul in 1 Samuel 18:8. Envy here seems to grip Saul so terribly that it gains complete mastery over him. It leads him three times to try to murder David. Some people do not know how quickly and fatally the poison of envy works. To them it seems almost unbelievable that Saul could have tried to kill the very one who had just delivered Israel, and for such a small reason. Yet I am sure of this: anyone who knows anything of his own heart can trace the seeds of great crimes in the feelings that envy prompts.
- Victory. The song follows a real rescue in which David, not Saul, did the work. Public opinion was turning, and Saul read it as a threat to his kingdom.
- Song. The women spoke the plain truth and gave honour to the one who had earned it, without dishonouring the king.
- Unity. They answered one another with no disagreement. Every heart was full of the same sense of David's greatness.
- Envy. Saul could not bear second place. The flesh cannot bear being nothing in Christ's presence, and that poison drove him to try to murder David three times.
- Christ. David's triumph faintly pictured his Greater Son. He broke the devil's power and freed a people from the fear of death, and now they praise Him.
And Saul was very wroth, and that saying was evil in his sight; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed the thousands; and [what] is there more for him but the kingdom?
The women's song after a victory over the Philistines put David's name above the king's. Saul heard more in it than praise for a young soldier. His anger, and his question about the kingdom, mark the moment admiration turns into hatred.
The women were not being disloyal. One commentator notes that they gave the king his due, and also named the man who had really delivered Israel. That is what Saul could not bear.
The sense of the great service that David had done faded quickly from Saul's spirit. And why? Because his object, his idol, was himself, and David's name that day interfered with it. The women, having more sensitive spirits, seized and uttered the simple truth. It was not that they failed to honour the king, but certainly they paid honour to the one to whom honour was due. They felt who was the instrument of the mighty deliverance in Israel.
Another writer puts it plainly. The song was "only the truth, simply spoken — and that does not make it any more welcome to a jealous mind."
Saul's reaction shows what he lived for. The problem was not David's success. It was Saul's need to be admired.
He had not learnt to forget himself and rejoice to see the work done by another. It is the work of grace to be able to do this. We all naturally like to be or to do something — to be looked at and thought of. So it was with Saul; he was a self-important man, and therefore little able to bear the songs of the maids of Israel. Saul could not stand the idea of being second. He forgot how he had trembled at the voice of Goliath. He was a coward, yet he wanted to be thought brave and daring.
Saul's leap from a song to a throne was not fear without cause.
The tide of popular opinion was turning in David's direction, and this alarmed and upset Saul. Samuel had told Saul that God would give his kingdom to another (1 Sam. 15:28), and Saul sees the signs that David may well be the man. This was another chance for Saul to hand the kingdom over to David of his own will. Instead he watched David with suspicion, looking for any sign that he wanted the throne. Of course, David himself showed no such inclination. It was only the facts of his character and ability that spoke to both Saul and the people.
The verse records a feeling, but the feeling did not stay still. What follows in the chapter shows how fast it moved.
The anger of his soul exposes him once more to the attacks of the evil spirit, which seemed to have stopped for a while. Now David's harp has lost its power. Saul throws the javelin in his hand to pin David to the wall, and twice David escapes from his presence. Then fear comes on Saul. He realises that Jehovah is with David, and not with himself.
Kelly names the principle behind it: "Evil, in the presence of the good it hates, tends to grow fast and deep."
One writer sees more than wounded pride at work here. The hatred that fastened on David had an older source and a larger target.
Saul was Satan's tool in his hatred of Christ. Saul only saw David. Satan saw in him a picture of Christ, who is the Son of David… It began with jealousy. David's submissive behaviour never failed, and that alone would have been enough to remove such a groundless feeling, had that been all… So Saul's jealousy ripened into Satan's hatred.
The same writer adds that God's chosen one "draws on himself the fiercest and most relentless hatred of the rejected king."
What would have saved Saul? A heart filled with the glory of God instead of his own.
It takes a very simple heart and a single eye to rejoice in the fruit of another's work as genuinely as in the fruit of our own hands. If the glory of God and the good of His people had filled Saul's heart, he would not have given a thought to the numbers credited to him or to David. Sadly, he sought his own glory. This was the secret of his envy and jealousy… When we are honestly seeking the promotion of Christ's glory we shall not be anxious about the instrument.
- Self as idol. Saul served one object — himself. The song got in its way, and his anger followed.
- Idol exposed. The women honoured the king, and honoured David above him. True praise of another is what a jealous mind finds hardest to bear.
- Idol threatened. Samuel had warned him the kingdom would go to another. Saul heard a throne in a song, and chose suspicion over surrender.
- Idol armed. Anger did not stay a feeling. The harp lost its power, the javelin flew, and Saul's jealousy ripened into Satan's hatred of Christ.
- Idol dethroned. Saul refused the one cure. A heart set on Christ's glory stops counting who gets the credit.
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
Israel's women had just sung David's victory over the giant, ranking him above their king. From that day on Saul watched him with a jealous eye, and much of the rest of 1 Samuel grows out of that one look.
David had done Saul a great service. One writer asks why the memory of it faded so fast.
The sense of the great service David had done faded quickly from Saul's spirit. And why? Because his object, his idol, was himself, and David's name that day got in the way of it… This roused the jealous sensitivity of the king: "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day on." Yes, and it was an evil eye, and Satan did not fail to take advantage of what the occasion offered.
Saul's son Jonathan looked at the same man and saw something completely different.
Jonathan was occupied with David. Saul eyed him from that day on. To him he was an object of jealousy, to Jonathan of admiration. What caused this difference? The songs of the women put Saul in the second place. This the king could not endure. So jealousy took hold of the unhappy king. It urged him along a course his better judgment at times condemned, and he never really turned from it. From this time until Saul's death, David suffered his bitter hatred.
The look did not stay a look for long.
From this day onward Saul eyed David (v. 9). The next day shows the depth of his heart. The evil spirit comes upon him. When he was among the prophets he had been able to give the impression that he depended on the Spirit of God. Once he is handed over to Satan, the fruits of his wicked heart show at once. This man who "prophesied within the house" throws his spear to "pin David to the wall" (vv. 10-11).
One detail marks how deep the change went.
The old remedy that had soothed the king, music, now lost its effect. When the evil spirit first came on him, it gave way to the sweet sounds of David's harp. It was no longer so. Evil in the presence of the good it hates tends to move fast and deep.
Saul is not a special case. One writer warns what this feeling does in anyone who allows it.
There is no telling how far this feeling may carry even a child of God, once he willingly allows it. It grows so fast. What starts as envy of another's success, prosperity, and position may soon turn into hatred, and then into plotting against him.
The rest of Israel welcomed David; Saul did not. One writer sees in the king something bigger than one man's jealousy.
But Saul stood out in base and brutal contrast to the rest of Israel. A bitter and undying hatred sprang up in his heart towards the man who had delivered the people. He eyed David with a jealous eye, and sought to destroy him (verses 9, 10). Saul represents the unconverted man, the man in the flesh… The flesh is that evil principle inside the human heart that shuts out God and Christ. It will always make SELF the supreme object of life, in opposition to Christ. The flesh will have religion, and meetings, and will sometimes tolerate Christians, but it will not have Christ.
The same writer follows envy through the Bible to its worst outcome.
We now come to the most terrible thing envy ever accomplished, in Mark 15:10. The chief priests, God's professed servants, handed Jesus, the Son of God, over to Pilate. They did it out of that wretched, miserable feeling of envy, which had eaten away everything even human in their hearts. Here envy led them to CRUCIFY CHRIST.
If self was the root, what is the cure?
It takes a very simple heart and a single eye to rejoice in what someone else has done as truly as in our own work. If the glory of God and the good of His people had filled Saul's heart, he would not have spent a thought on the numbers, his or David's. Sadly, he sought his own glory. This was the secret of his envy and jealousy. Oh, what sacred rest, what true dignity, what perfect quietness of spirit comes from self-renunciation! It is the self-renunciation that grows from having the heart wholly occupied with Christ.
- The song: The women's comparison put Saul in second place, and that was what he could not endure.
- The self: His idol was himself, so another man's honour felt like an injury. Seeking his own glory was the secret of his envy.
- The eye: The look was an evil eye, and Satan used the opening. Within a day the watching became a thrown spear, and it did not stop until Saul died.
- The reach: Left to grow, the same feeling moves from envy to hatred to plotting. Its worst outcome came when the chief priests handed Jesus over out of envy.
- The cure: A single eye can rejoice in another's success. Rest and quietness come to a heart wholly occupied with Christ, not with its own place.