Even though David was winning battles for Saul, the king had become very afraid of him. He was jealous of David's fame and he feared David's wisdom. But most of all, he was afraid because he knew that God was no longer with him, but God was with David.
Because of all his fear and paranoia, Saul wanted David dead.
I Samuel 19:1-3- And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
Jonathan told David that Saul wanted to kill him. He was hoping that he could talk to his father and make everything better. He told David to hide until he knew how his father would respond.
I Samuel 19:4-6- And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
It seemed that Jonathan had gotten through to his father. Saul swore an oath to the Lord that he would not kill David, nor would he have anyone else kill David.
I Samuel 19:7-8- And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
Everything seemed to be getting back to how it was at the beginning. David was free to come into the king's presence. He was leading part of the army when they went out to battle the Philistines. And God was helping him to win the battles.
I Samuel 19:9-10- And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
Once the evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul again, Saul went back to his old ways. He tried to kill David himself! And when David got away. He tried to send soldiers to bring him back.
I Samuel 19:11-18- Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
Michal loved David so much that she begged David to flee. She helped keep her father from following David by making a dummy and putting it in his bed. She covered it up so that it looked like a person laying there. When the soldiers showed up she told them that David was in bed sick.
Saul was very upset when he found out that Michal lied. Michal was afraid of what Saul would do to her that she lied again. She said that David threatened her if she didn't do it. The kept her father from being angry at her.
David ran to Samuel and told him all that was going on.
I Samuel 19:19-23- And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
Saul sent men after David. But, each time he sent men, they ended up prophesying. Finally, Saul went himself. But, he, too, began to prophesy. God didn't want Saul to kill David. So, he stopped Saul from getting him.
We don't know why God had David go through this. David was only in his 20's, and through no fault of his own had become Israel's most wanted. Could God have stopped it? Yes. But God had a reason for allowing this to happen to David. And God never stopped being with David. He helped him and protected him the entire time he was on the run.
