“Sha’ul said to his servants standing around him, ‘Listen, you men of Binyamin! Is Yishai’s son going to give any of you fields and vineyards? Is he going to make you all commanders of thousands and hundreds?'”-1 Samuel 22:7
Let’s examine the current political situation between Saul and David on a deeper level.
As Saul sat under the Tamarisk tree on the hill, we’re told he was surrounded by his “servants”.
That’s misleading.
These weren’t mere “servants.“
They were elite members of Saul’s war council.
And they were all men from Saul’s tribe of Benjamin.
This means they were naturally loyal to Saul.
The other tribes may have decided to separate from Saul as his behavior became crazier by the day.
But Saul had a bone to pick with his fellow Benjamite war council members.
The problem was while loyal to Saul, they had no problem holding David in high esteem.
This was unacceptable to Saul.
That’s why Saul said to them…
“Listen, men of Benjamin!
Will the son of Jesse give all
of you fields and vineyards?
Will he make all of you
commanders of thousands
and commanders of hundreds?”
So Saul was saying…
“If you’re harboring any thoughts that David might become king, perish those thoughts immediately.”
Saul was using the Middle Eastern tribalistic ways to his advantage.
He was pointing out that since David comes from a different tribe (Judah), there was no way he would treat them better than a king from their own tribe.
And you know what?
Saul was right.
According to tribalism in those days, there was little possibility that David would take fields and vineyards and hand them over to anyone but members of his own family and tribe.
That was the way the world operated in those days.
Also, if Saul’s Benjamite war council knew that God had already chosen David as king, they would likely have supported Saul more eagerly.
Why would the northern tribal alliance want a Southerner (one from the tribe of Judah) to have authority over them?
So Saul’s argument that supporting David would be a huge disadvantage is hitting home with his fellow Benjamites.
But then Saul’s speech takes an ugly turn.
He accuses his war council of betrayal.
Why?
Because according to Saul, they didn’t tell him about Jonathan’s covenant with David.
But here’s the thing.
Saul’s war council likely didn’t know that Jonathan was backing David.
There’s no reason why they would’ve known.
Since they had no idea that Jonathan was supporting David, they were probably shocked at Saul’s accusation.
But it didn’t matter to Saul.
Saul wanted them to feel bad so they’d do what he wanted.
He then piles on the guilt really thick by saying…
“Is that why you have all conspired against me?
No one tells me when my son makes a covenant
with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned
about me or tells me that my son has incited my
servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”
Saul is saying David has turned against him and is now his enemy.
But here’s the thing.
None of this was true.
It was all based on Saul’s paranoia.
And that’s your takeaway for today.
When you don’t trust God and His sovereignty…
You end up becoming paranoid and suspicious for no reason at all.
The truth is David never held ill feelings toward Saul.
He supported him wholeheartedly…
But because Saul was so freaking paranoid…
He couldn’t control himself and let his suspicions get the better of him.
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