How David Responded When Saul Tried to Kill Him
Part Three of a series on the life of David — The Woodlands First Baptist Church
Have you ever been in a situation where someone did not like you, where they were actually trying to harm you, and you did nothing wrong to cause it? How is a follower of Jesus supposed to respond to that?
Continuing the series on the life of David at The Woodlands First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, TX, Tierce Green took the congregation into 1 Samuel 18 and what he calls the fine art of spear dodging. Last week David defeated Goliath of Gath, a victory so remarkable that more than three thousand years later, everyone knows the story whether they attend church or not. You would think that after such a triumph, things would go well for David. You would think the king would be full of gratitude toward the courageous young man who had delivered the nation. Instead, David spent the next decade dodging spears he never deserved, and how he handled it carries one of the most practical lessons in all of Scripture.
When Success Makes You a Target
Some things did go well at first. First Samuel 18:2 says that from the day David killed the Philistine, Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. Whether that reflects genuine fondness or the early signs of Saul’s insecurity is hard to say. Verse 5 continues: “Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.” David was around eighteen years old, holding high military rank, loved and respected by those who served under him, alongside him, and above him.
As it turns out, he was loved a little too much for Saul’s comfort. When the army returned home, the women came out from all the towns of Israel with singing and dancing, the ancient equivalent of the ticker tape parades that greeted soldiers coming home from World War II. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
Verse 8 records the turn: “Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.” Saul had a jealous eye, and the problem with jealousy is that it causes us to see everything the wrong way. Wherever jealousy takes root, evil thinking follows. David was not trying to take Saul’s throne, and he would prove it over the next ten years. Nevertheless, Saul’s sinful jealousy made him paranoid.
Did God Send an Evil Spirit on Saul?
First Samuel 18:10 says that “an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul,” and that verse troubles some readers because it appears an evil spirit overcame Saul against his will. That is not the case. The language of the text is three thousand years old, and at that point in redemption history there was no developed understanding of evil or of a devil. God was believed to be in control of everything, which is true; however, people concluded that God therefore causes everything to happen, which is not true.
We now live in light of the New Testament and of Jesus. We understand that evil and the devil exist, and so does free will, because the sovereign God gives it. James 1:13–14 says: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” God permitted a spirit of jealousy to come on Saul, but the jealousy itself grew from Saul’s own selfish ambition, just as our own sin cannot be blamed on anyone other than ourselves.
Evil-Spirited Religion
The same verse contains a fascinating detail: in the middle of all this, Saul was prophesying in his house. Prophesying usually means to forth-tell, to preach God’s Word, though in the Old Testament it can also refer to ranting or ecstatic utterances. Some of both may be happening here. What we are watching is the toxic, twisted thinking of an evil-spirited person who is also religious, and unfortunately, evil-spirited religion exists. Some of the meanest, most hateful people you will ever meet are in the church.
Saul remained religious to the end. He was prophesying, perhaps even appearing to worship, yet he had somehow convinced himself that killing David, a man after God’s own heart, was God’s will. The internal logic went something like this: God made me the anointed king, and David threatens me, so David threatens God, so I must protect God by eliminating him. It is astonishing how religious people can justify their hatred and convince themselves their evil is actually of God. Saul was still having spiritual experiences; however, he was experiencing no positive spiritual transformation whatsoever. His heart was deceitful and violent. Humility, by contrast, does not mean thinking less of yourself. It means thinking of yourself less, and that is exactly the example David gives throughout this story while Saul’s pride distorts everything it touches, including his religion.
Throw It Back! Or Maybe Not
Tierce Green continues the series on the life of David, exploring why David dodged King Saul’s spears for ten years instead of throwing one back.
While David played the lyre as he usually did, Saul sat with a spear in his hand, and verse 11 says he hurled it, telling himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” David eluded him twice, and verse 12 explains the deeper dynamic: “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul.”
After dodging the second spear, David did not know what to do. Isn’t that interesting? Because we would know exactly what to do, wouldn’t we? Throw it back. That is what our society teaches. Tierce illustrated the instinct with a story about George Steinbrenner, the notorious owner of the New York Yankees. During a tight pennant race years ago, Detroit’s owner held his best pitcher out of the All-Star game to keep him fresh for the next series against New York. Steinbrenner was furious. In an interview he declared: “What Detroit has done is completely unethical and wrong, and we’re going to do it next year.”
When someone throws a spear at you, you throw it back, right? David certainly had the ability. He had already killed a lion, a bear, and a giant, and he could have put that spear through Saul’s heart. He did not. Furthermore, the provocation kept coming. Saul offered his daughter Michal’s hand in marriage at the price of one hundred Philistine foreskins, a request the text itself presents as strange, and David returned with two hundred. The reason behind the offer surfaces in verse 25: Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines. When the plan failed and Saul saw that the Lord was with David and that Michal loved him, verse 29 says Saul “became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.” After the wedding, Saul tried to pin David to the wall a third time. That third spear finally convinced David the violent outbursts would never stop, and he fled.
For ten years Saul pursued David, who had done nothing wrong. David lived like an outlaw, at one point spending over a year among the Philistines. Twice he was close enough to Saul to kill him easily, and twice he refused, proving each time that he meant Saul no harm. Each time Saul confessed his sin, and each time he went right back to hunting David. In spite of all of it, David chose to be a spear dodger rather than a spear thrower. Why?
Not Passivity, but Restraint
It was not because David was a pacifist. He had fought before and would fight again; in a sinful world, armies are sadly necessary, because where no army protects the innocent, another army bent on oppression will arrive. Nor did David simply allow himself to be harmed. He dodged. He set boundaries so Saul could not reach him. He spoke the truth about Saul’s evil to Samuel. He protected himself fully; nevertheless, he refused to throw the spear back, and his reasons are the heart of the message.
Reason One: David Wanted to Honor God
In 1 Samuel 24:10, David said to Saul: “Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’” Later, in 1 Samuel 26:9–11, with yet another opportunity in front of him, David told his soldier Abishai: “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.”
David believed removing Saul from the throne was God’s responsibility, not his. He held that conviction with his eyes wide open. He had been there in Bethlehem when Samuel anointed him; he knew he was the chosen king. Even so, he trusted God’s timing, because he was not willing to do what was wrong to achieve what was right.
Reason Two: David Refused to Become What He Hated
The moment David threw the spear back, he would have become the very thing he reviled. That is the problem with trying to overcome evil with evil: it changes us. We become like the person who hurt us. Saul was consumed by anger, jealousy, and violence, and by dodging instead of throwing, David refused to let Saul’s evil transform him into the same kind of man.
History is full of people who became what they hated. Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, despised the monarchy for its tyranny, its abuse of power, and its execution of political opponents. Then the monarchy fell and Robespierre rose, and to protect the revolution he led the Reign of Terror, during which thousands were executed by guillotine, people were arrested on suspicion alone, and even slight dissent was crushed. Robespierre became the very thing his revolution had been created to destroy, and when he fell, a talented young general promising stability crowned himself emperor. France went from tyrant to tyrant to tyrant. That is what happens when we return evil for evil. As the saying goes, the problem with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is that pretty soon everyone is blind and needing dentures.
David refused to throw the spear back because he was a man after God’s own heart, and he wanted to remain the person God created him to be. Every one of us, sooner or later, will be either a spear thrower or a spear dodger. As followers of Jesus, we know which one we are called to be.
Jesus Did Not Dodge the Spear. He Took It.
Jesus had a spear thrown at him once, while he hung on a cross dying for your sin and mine. He could have thrown it back. He had the ability to summon every angel in heaven to bring him down and destroy everyone who crucified him. Instead, he prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Rather than dodging the spear, Jesus chose to take it.
His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount had already pointed his followers down this road. Matthew 5:38–47 says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”
Paul carried the teaching forward in Romans 12:14–21: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
The Man on the Porch Steps
In the early 1900s, when the evangelist Billy Sunday was leading huge city revivals, an unassuming and somewhat odd man traveled with the team at his own expense. He was a prayer warrior who spent the days of each crusade walking the streets, knocking on doors, handing out invitations, and sharing Christ wherever he could.
One hard-hearted woman heard about him and told her friends that if he ever knocked on her door, he would be sorry he did. One day he knocked, and she was as good as her word. She cursed him, maligned him, and slammed the door in his face. The man simply sat down on her front porch steps and, oddly, began to sing an old hymn by Isaac Watts: “Was it for crimes that I have done, he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree. But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away; ’tis all that I can do.”
During those meetings the woman became a Christian, and she said afterward that when the man sat on her porch and sang about drops of grief, every drop fell on her hard heart and melted it. Turning the other cheek is not weakness or surrender. It is a strong and unmistakable way of displaying the love of Christ on the cross, and none of us has the strength to live that way on our own. Through the power of his Spirit, however, God supplies exactly that strength, and it is available to anyone who asks him for salvation by grace.
Go Deeper: A Man and His Traps
Saul’s downfall did not begin with a spear. It began with hidden idols: jealousy, insecurity, the need for control, and the fear of losing significance. Those same traps still take men down today, which is exactly what our next men’s Bible study is built to confront.
A Man and His Traps, Volume 3 of 33 The Series from Authentic Manhood, equips men to go below the surface and attack the idols that distract them from the truth and power of the gospel. The study introduces a framework and a process for dealing head-on with issues like the need for control, unfounded fear, lust, and the pursuit of significance.
Led by Tierce Green, this six-week study begins Wednesday, September 30, 2026, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM in The Sanctuary at the South Campus, 11801 Grogans Mill Rd. The study book costs $15, and midweek meals are available for purchase beforehand. Register at twfbc.church/4bwyrJm or scan the QR code below.
Which One Will You Be?
Sooner or later, someone will throw a spear at you. It may already be happening: an unfair boss, a family member who has turned on you, a friend whose jealousy has curdled into hostility. When it comes, you will face the same choice David faced in Saul’s court. Throw it back and become what wounded you, or dodge it, set your boundaries, trust God with the outcome, and remain the person he created you to be.
The battle, as David learned in the valley and in the court, belongs to the Lord.
If you are searching for a church near me in The Woodlands, TX where Scripture speaks directly into real life, we would love for you to join us at The Woodlands First Baptist Church as the series on the life of David continues.
Learn More about The Woodlands First
► Watch the full sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgxJlsHheqU
► Plan your visit this Sunday: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/new/
► Learn about our church: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/beliefs/
► First Kids (Children’s Ministry): https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/ministries/first-kids/
Visit The Woodlands First Baptist Church
We offer worship services in traditional, modern, and Spanish-language styles across two campuses in The Woodlands, TX, along with Bible study classes and small groups for all ages.
South Campus: 11801 Grogan’s Mill Rd, The Woodlands, TX 77380
North Campus: 5148 FM 1488, The Woodlands, TX 77354
Phone: (281) 367-4317
Website: thewoodlandsfirst.org
Looking for churches near me in The Woodlands, TX? The Woodlands First Baptist Church has served this community since 1979. Come discover a community that takes Scripture seriously and welcomes everyone who is searching.
