1. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

2. RECAP OF OUR LAST STUDY
From our last study, entitled “David Defeats Goliath”, we learnt that fear is not of God, believers should exercise faith in God in spite of seemingly impossible situation Again, believers should not forget God’s past dealings, His promises and assurance. The Bible says “Greater is he that is in us than he that is the world”. {1 John 4:4} Lastly, David would not allow God’s name to be blaspheme. He stood his ground to defend God’s name.

3. TODAY’S STUDY: LESSON 743: SAUL ENVIES DAVID
MEMORY VERSE: …… “And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eye David from that day and forwards.” (1 Samuel 18:8-9). TEXT: 1 Samuel 18:1-30

4. INTRODUCTION
David’s victory over Goliath brought him on the national stage. The King, his son and servants loved him. Jonathan, though the crown- prince, became his dear friend of this common shepherd. He had pure love, which we all should covet. However, the praise-song of the women about David and his growing popularity brought envy and hatred into Saul’s heart and he started to devise ways to make him fall. We should be careful not to become envious of others’ success. We should rather praise God for others’ victory, rejoice with them and use their testimony as a stepping-stone to ours.

5. DAVID’S FRIENDSHIP WITH JONATHAN AND APPOINTMENT BY THE KING – 1 Samuel 18:1-5; Proverbs 18:24; 1 John 3:16
David’s victory came with higher responsibility, esteem and affection from all Israel. God gave him favour before Jonathan, who came down to his level and eventually risked his life to protect him from his father’s plot to kill him. In the same way, Jesus descended low to love us and connect us to the heavenly family. There should be no class separation in the Church: we are all God’s children. We see that it was David’s victory that connected him to the king. He was dutiful, obedient and courageous. So should we be!

6. QUESTION 2: Why was David accepted by all Israel? – 1 Samuel 18:5
DAVID’S FRIENDSHIP WITH JONATHAN AND APPOINTMENT BY THE KING – 1 Samuel 18:1-5; Proverbs 18:24; 1 John 3:16
QUESTION 1: What are the similarities between Jonathan’s friendship with David and that of Jesus with believers? – John 15:13-15, 2 Samuel 1:26
QUESTION 2: Why was David accepted by all Israel? – 1 Samuel 18:5

7. RELENTLESS PLOT AGAINST AN ACCEPTED COMMANDER 1 Samuel 18:6-11; Ecclesiastes 10:8; 1 John 5:8
Saul felt threatened by David. He lost the kingdom already, yet he would stay there by all means and destroy any possible successor. While we should not compare one with another, we should also beware of envy: it is destructive! Saul was a type of the devil, who seeks to destroy believers. We must watch and pray and not destroy God’s hedge of protection around us. Like Saul became prey to an evil spirit, he who allows sin will fall from grace and lose his security. We should learn from David and put our confidence in God to fight our battles for us. We should never seek revenge!

8. RELENTLESS PLOT AGAINST AN ACCEPTED COMMANDER 1 Samuel 18:6-11, Ecclesiastes 10:8, 1 John 5:8
QUESTION 3: What do we learn from Saul’s move to kill David? – Titus 3:3, Proverbs 6:16-19
QUESTION 4: Why was Saul afflicted by an evil spirit? – Job 1:9,10
QUESTION 5: What should be the believers attitude towards persecution? – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

9. REPEATED FEAR OF THE APOSTATE AND CRUEL KING 1 Samuel 18:12-30; Proverb 29:25; 1 John 4:18
Saul loved the honour of men beyond God’s approval. That made him to fail in divine duty and was finally rejected. We must watch! Moreover, we see that Saul used different strategies to destroy David: promotion, marriage, military assignments, etc. The devil uses similar baits to entangle and destroy careless saints. Watch!
QUESTION 6: What are the similarities between the devices Saul used to eliminate David and ones the devil uses against believers? – 2 Corinthians 2:11, Ephesians 6:11

10. CONCLUSION
David’s promotion brought him trouble with Saul. But God preserved Him and used Jonathan’s selfless love to help him. In the same way God is able to keep us from Satan and his plots. Christ demonstrated His unparalleled love to us by laying down His life to reconcile us to God. We must put our trust in God to fight their battles and defeat the enemy’s purposes. We must also guard against the vices of envy and hatred.