David Marries Saul’s Daughter
1 Samuel 18:17-30 NLT
17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
18 “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” 19 So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
20 In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. 21 “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
22 Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
23 When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
24 When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, 25 he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
26 David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, 27 he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, 29 Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
30 Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.
Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 18:17-30 NLT
David Marries Saul’s Daughter
17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.”
David had already “earned” the right to marry one of Saul’s daughters. Now Saul was adding addition conditions to his original promise.
- Saul reneged on a promise he had already made to David.
1 Samuel 17:25 NLT
25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
“Fighting the Lord’s battles” would be a challenging appeal to David.
Saul knew that David was committed to serving the Lord.
For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
- Saul’s gesture was a snare. It was an attempt to have David killed in battle.
Saul did not grasp the fact that “the Lord was with him (David)”.
Why didn’t Saul kill David? As king he could have easily arranged to have David killed.
David was loved by the people of Israel and Judah.
1 Samuel 18:16 NLT
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.
Most likely Saul did not want to kill David for fear of a negative response from the people of Israel and Judah.
Note:
Notice the similarity between Saul’s treachery and that of David with Uriah.
2 Samuel 11:15 NLT
15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”
18 “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!”
David felt unworthy to marry a daughter of the king.
- Family lineage was normally crucial when marrying into the king’s family.
Note who King Solomon married.
1 Kings 11:3 NLT
3 He had 700 wives of royal birth …
Frequently kings married the daughters of other kings to form alliances.
Saul was interested in David’s lineage.
Previously Saul was asking about David’s lineage:
1 Samuel 17:55-58 NLT
55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
19 So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
Another broken promise.
Before anything happened between David and Merab, Saul gave Merab to another man.
Note:
Later, we read where David handed over 5 of Merab and Adriel’s sons to the Gibeonites to be executed.
20 In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David,
Two of Saul’s children loved David while their father Saul was trying to kill him.
and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. 21 “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
Here again Saul this as an opportunity to get rid of David.
22 Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
This is clearly a lie.
- Saul lied to David.
23 When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
Normally the “bride price” or dowry was money and the amount of money for a king’s daughter would be far more than David could afford.
- David’s family could not afford the bride price to marry a king’s daughter.
24 When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, 25 he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins!
Such mutilation of the bodies of slain enemies was commonly practiced in ancient warfare.
- In place of the normal dowry, David could earn the privilege of marrying Michal by killing 100 Philistines.
Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
Saul lied again.
Proverbs 12:22 NLT
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in those who tell the truth.
Saul used Michal to lure David into what he thought would be a fatal encounter with the Philistines.
26 David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, 27 he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines.
- God protected David, and he and his men were able to kill twice as Philistines than Saul had specified.
Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
David became Saul’s son-in-law by marrying Michal.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David
It appears that Saul himself never made any attempt to restore his relationship with God.
and how much his daughter Michal loved him, 29 Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
Saul’s fear of David was unfounded. David consistently honored Saul as king.
David did not kill Saul when he had the opportunity to do so.
1 Samuel 24:6-7 NLT
6 He (David) said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” 7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.
1 Samuel 26:9-11 NLT
9 “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? 10 … 11 The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! …
30 Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.
- David’s military successes continued and his popularity increased.
1 Samuel 18:14 NLT
14 David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him.
- David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him.
A reminder for us.
Isaiah 41:10 NLT (The promise of God’s presence is central to the Bible.)
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
