“Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord‘s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, Merb I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.”
1 Samuel 18:17-19
Saul’s deceit is now effective. His heart wants to manipulate David; he wants to destroy him. As I read this portion, I’m struck by Saul’s evil. He wants David dead but is unwilling to do this sin on his own. He wants the ungodly Philistines to do this dirty deed.
He falsely believes that David’s success is based on his military prowess. He thinks the skill of David militarily acumen is secular and superb. But it isn’t. David’s ability is grace. A gift of God to men. It really can’t be explained otherwise.
Saul was a man bereft of the Spirit of God.
I don’t think otherwise. Saul discovers his “kryptonite.” It is his denial of the belief of God’s presence on a simple man. Maybe he knows, but he also understands that something has changed; Saul has lost the anointing of the Lord.
Saul has lost his way. And now he resorts to the human way of thinking.
David is on a completely wavelength. In verse 18 he shows the humility and meekness of a heart that is saturated with God’s residence. I believe that this is called “overcoming with an opposite spirit.” I don’t think you can see this any other way.
God is using David to communicate to us His heart. David’s humility is something built inside; He responds in an innocence that is seldom seen. He was sincere; what you see is what you get.
David responds with a heartfelt love for Saul. David is totally sincere, and he responds reveals God’s heart toward Saul. (If only King Saul would listen to God. But that wasn’t going to happen.)
The marriage between David and Merab was just pretense. Saul stepped in and blocked it; he would never allow David’s ascendance into the royal line.
Something significant, I think. David still has his harp. He worships himself through this morass. That worship sustains him. When David plays, it’s a level of protection from his enemies.
A word about “overcoming with an opposite spirit.”
Faith does some amazing things in a simple believer’s heart. We must (incessantly) respond to evil in the way of David. He shows us how.
Much could be said about how we interpret this passage, and yet I keep focusing upon David’s humility here. But the work is His. And we must see this insight of a man who is giving himself to the ways of God, even in the tumult of the moment, David rests in the Lord.
This will test the heart of David.
King David 101 