Saul and his children prove the opposites: “Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave.”
The definition of mercurial exactly fits Saul’s behavior: “subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.” As 1 Samuel 19 opens, the king is giving instructions to his court: “Kill David” (v 1). Jonathan informed his friend and told him to hide for the present while he remonstrated with his father. Jonathan met Saul in a field, providing confidentiality out of respect. His appeal went as follows: “Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?” (vv 4-5). In one brief statement, he offers five iron-clad arguments. 1. You would be guilty because David is guiltless. 2. You would be self-defeating, because David is an asset. 3. You would be ungrateful, because David turned the tide against the enemy. 4. You would be inconsistent because you celebrated the victory. 5. You would be acting irrationally because there is no reason for David’s death. To all this Saul agreed and swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed” (v 6). Talk about taking the Lord’s name in vain! Within a few days, as David played the harp, Saul hurled a javelin to impale him, which David deftly avoided. Was it an uncontrollable fit? Hardly, because Saul then sent men to lie in wait at his house, to finish the job in the morning. Through Michal’s artifice, making a mannequin of her husband in bed, David once again escaped. Jealousy makes you poke out your own eyes! Saul couldn’t see the truth, even when his son and daughter showed him.