David, Pt. 3: "The Evil Eye" (1 Sam 18)

THE EVIL EYE (1 SAMUEL 18)
The master-disciple or teacher-student relationship in the Chinese society is a hierarchical one. The teacher is the superior and the student is the subordinate. A prominent senior pastor twenty years older than me still calls me teacher after he has audited just one of my preaching classes! To save each other embarrassment, I would say, “You’re just an audit!”

For centuries the kungfu master, the god of chef and the divine physician do not teach their students everything they know for fear that one day the students’ skills, knowledge and expertise might top, overtake and surpass the teacher himself. The Chinese sayings include (1) the student triumph over his master徒弟打死師父, (2) the back waves pushing the front waves後浪推前浪, and (3) the color green that comes from blue overpowering the color blue青出於，藍勝於藍.

Every teacher is afraid that his students might draw the plank after they have crossed the bridge. For example, a wise kungfu teacher withholds a trick or two from the disobedient student that can throw him for a loop, bring him to his knees or put him in his place. Rare is the master that graciously transfers the entirety of his secret manuscripts, fighting techniques and martial arts school to his student. A benevolent teacher might do it if the student marries his daughter. Often, if the teacher cannot pass the killer blow to his children, he would rather take it to the grave than to benefit those outside the family.

Saul the king was jealous of David, the man who would be king, and he did all that was in his power to stop David from making his mark, taking his place and gaining the respect, the loyalty and the affection of the people. However, the more he tried, the more popular David became.

Shakespeare called jealousy a “green-eyed monster.” The Germans associate pale with jealousy, the Swedes become “black-sick” with jealousy and the Chinese go red with jealousy(眼紅). The word jealous comes from the word zeal. A jealous person guards everything with excessive zeal, whether it is his status, his secret or his success. The jealous person is afraid that someone else is going to steal something from him or her (Stories behind words 21).

Why is jealousy negative, unfulfilling and self-defeating?

People Become Defensive When They Are Jealous
5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. 7 As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. (1 Sam 18:5-9)

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist. When he arrived, he was given an audience by the sensei. “What do you want from me?” the master asked. “I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land,” the boy replied. “How long must I study?”

“Ten years at least,” the master answered. “Ten years is a long time,” said the boy. “What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?”

“Twenty years,” replied the master. “Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?”

“Thirty years,” was master’s reply. “How is it each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” the boy asked.

“The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the way.” (Bits and Pieces 1/2/97, from “Zen in the Martial Arts” by Joe Hyams & Joseph Cardillo)

A sports saying suggests, “A mad player is a bad player.”

The rise of David and the opposition from Saul was literally an eye-opener in the text. Jewish eyes were smiling on David – the word “pleased” (v 5) is the Hebrew noun for “sight,” but Saul watched David as if his life depended on it – he kept a jealous eye on David (v 9). The NIV used the word “eye” as a noun, but the Hebrew text recorded it as a verb: “Saul eyed David from that day on.” This is the only time, the first and last time the eye is used as a verb in the Bible. Saul was probably the most jealous biblical character. His jealousy knew no bounds and had no limits.

For what reason did Saul give David the jealous eye and the evil eye? For no reason and no fault of David. David never asked to be invited home (v 2) and never took matters into his own hands or offered suggestion on how to govern, who to fight or what to do; he obediently did what Saul sent him to do (v 5). Success did not change David. He was not tired of or disgusted with playing harp for the king. David followed Saul like a puppy, but Saul eyed him like a hawk. Here was an eager and loyal young man who was willing to put his life on the line and even take an arrow or a spear for his king and master. His crimes and threats were his talents, gifts and abilities.

David’s success (v 5) was not a curse; it was a blessing that Saul made, corrupted and twisted into a curse. The unranked soldier did not do anything wrong or shameful, nor was he out of line or out of order. He did not promote himself, court success or curry favors. Even when he was promoted, no one complained. All the citizens applauded the king’s actions and, uncharacteristically, even the overlooked soldiers and the officers were happy for the Saul, David and the nation, too. No soldier was on strike. They beamed with pride at David’s coming of age and they did not take offense at David’s rapid rise.

One day, however, it all went wrong. The women who had come from all the towns of Israel said the wrong thing and sang the wrong chorus. Their song was not music to Saul’s ears. The fact that they were there to meet and greet King Saul (v 6), and not David, did not make the king happier or better with the lyrics ringing in his ears. He nearly fell of his horse. It was one of those repeat till the nth time, sing till you are breathless, the mouth is dry and the voice is coarse praise songs! They did not repeat “David his tens of thousands” more times than “Saul has slain his thousands and David his hundreds,” but the ladies kicked off quite a storm, rained on Saul’s parade and added fuel to the fire. “Is David ten times the man I am?” Saul snorted.

Saul became not just angry, but “very angry,” the kind of fury or intense anger that led Cain (Gen 4:5) and Jacob’s sons (Gen 34:7) to kill, Abner to betray Ish-bosheth (2 Sam 3:8), David to burn upon hearing Nathan’s story (2 Sam 12:5), Nehemiah to condemn the slavery of fellow Jews (Neh 5:6) and Jonah to pout when Nineveh was spared (Jonah 4:1). This noticeable anger remain unabated and recurring phrase remained with Saul the next two chapters (1 Sam 20:7), even when David was out of his life and presence.

King Saul knew how popular the song would become after the ladies from all the towns of Israel (v 6) had learned and spread it. It was as good as burning his eyebrows, shaving his moustache and slapping his face. However, Saul did not take out his displeasure on the ladies, but on David. From the word “they” Saul ended with the word “he” (v 8). Every word David said and every move he made were viewed with suspicion. Everything Saul saw was clouded by impairment, colored with intention and clothed with insidiousness.

People Become Destructive When They Are Jealous
10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. (1 Sam 18:10-14)

Matt Weinstein, in his book, “Managing to Have Fun,” tells of an amazing psychology experiment nicknamed “The Good Samaritan Study.”

Researchers noticed that pay phone customers like to check the coin return slot for money after making a call, so they decided to test how those with and those without their money returned respond to people in need. The researchers randomly put coins in the coin return slot, so that some of the people who used the phone actually did discover money.

The researchers then hired a young woman to walk by the phone at the exact moment that the subjects were hanging up. When the young woman walked by with her arms full of books, she pretended to stumble and drop them on the ground. Astonishingly, the researchers observed that the people who found the money in the coin return were four times as likely to stop and help the woman pick up her books then were the people who found no money in the coin return. They concluded that when we feel good we tend to do good!

It’s been said, “How a man plays the game shows something of his character. How he loses shows all of it.” (Pulpit Helps 10/94).

Saul’s destruction began when he became volatile, vindictive and vicious. Also, he had much time on his hands to brood, to fret and to mope. He decided that one of them had to go. The initial love Saul had for David (1 Sam 16:21) was replaced by murderous hate, and he erupted into uncontrollable rage and violence. How dare somebody steal my limelight and scenes? How dare the supporting actor steal the show, win the Oscar and garner the reviews? David’s ratings were up, his star was rising and his fans were growing. Someone had to pay, something had to give and something had to be done. The vicious king lashed out in rage and threw a spear at David. He threw it with all his might, thinking of making kabob and mince-meat out of David. Venom leaked and dripped from Saul’s mouth.

In fact, Saul was no better than the Gentile Goliath, who also carried a spear (1 Sam 17:7). In a sense, he was even more dangerous than Goliath, who had no chance to throw his spear. The king kept thinking “I’ll get him next time.” No wonder a psychiatrist said: “I can cure somebody’s madness, but I can’t do anything about that person’s badness.” (Stacey and Paula Rinehart, Living in Light of Eternity 40, Navs, 1985)

David’s refusal to defend himself against the spear the second time still did not convince Saul of his innocence. Fear (v 12) made Saul a bad and an unstable man. His fear was unfounded and misplaced. He made himself David’s enemy the rest of his days, not vice versa (v 29). Saul targeted the wrong person; he should be more afraid of himself. He did not admit to the Lord’s absence in his life, but fumed at the Lord’s presence in David’s life. Saul did not rail against God, but David. David did not cause Saul’s problems; he was there to alleviate them. Note that the Spirit of the Lord was with David (1 Sam 16:13) before departing from Saul (1 Sam 16:14) – not after.

The more Saul persecuted David, the more David thrived. The young lad had great success because the Lord was with him (v 14). What was spoken twice of Saul (1 Samuel 10:7, 20:13) – “God is with you” – was mentioned a record-breaking eight times with David (1 Sam 16:18, 17:37, 18:12, 14, 28, 20:13, 2 Sam 5:10, 7:31). Saul’s young servant – a youth (1 Sam 16:18,), Saul – a leader (1 Sam 18:28), Jonathan – a peer (1 Sam 20:13) and Nathan – a mentor (2 Sam 7:3) confirmed God’s presence in David’s life. Saul had invoked God’s blessing upon David (1 Sam 17:37) for the latter’s fight with Goliath, but sadly, he did not mean it - maybe he meant it only to his advantage, or he had reversed himself. God’s presence in David’s life did little to deter Saul from acting irrationally even as the Lord gave David unparalleled success.

The word “all” characterized David’s success. First, his promotion pleased all the people (v 5). Then the ladies from all the towns of Israel went gaga over him (v 6). Later he had success in all he did (v 14). Eventually, all Israel and Judah – north and south – would come to love him (v 16), because David risked his life for them. David was fighting in the battlefield with them while Saul was lounging in the palace.

People Become Deceitful When They Are Jealous
25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines. 26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. 28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. 30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known. (1 Sam 18:25-30)

The Walt Disney tandem of Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg brought magic and money to the kingdom before they split, the latter founding Dreamworks as a result and the former never the same since.

Two months after CEO Michael D. Eisner had an operation, the corporate world was shocked by Katzenberg’s resignation rather than promotion. Katzenberg had success overseeing 40 films a year and was credited with the huge success of Disney’s animation, including The Lion King, but Eisner refused to name him as the No. 2 man at Disney.

Katzenberg complained bitterly: “For 19 years, Michael has been my mentor, teacher, No. 1 champion, my boss and my friend. I just wanted him to take me as his partner, to bring me to his inner circle. I did not want his job. I was prepared to be his No. 2 guy. This as a teacher and a student, and now the student asked to be a teacher’s assistant...It’s about a father not being able to accept his son. I still don’t understand it, and it’s hard to reconcile.” (Time 9/5/94).

Succession scares leaders. Only 34% of the chief executives say they have identified their successors, concludes a recent survey by Korn/Fery International, an executive research firm in New York. (Wall Street Journal 7/19/94)

Some people gracefully accept other’s success only when they themselves are successful. Some react strongly when others have more success. Some bring out the worst in themselves when their stock is down and others are up.

No matter what Saul did to David, David did not go away. The latter had more success, more support and more self-respect. David survived spears, snares and setbacks. His progress report in the chapter reads this way: Jonathan loved David as himself (v 1), all Israel and Judah loved David (v 16), Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David (v 20, 28) and Saul’s attendants like, or Hebrew for “love,” him (v 22). Every one on Saul’s side – his son, his daughter, his subjects and his servants loved David. Jonathan (1 Sam 18:1, 20:17) and Michal’s (vv 20, 28) love for David were each mentioned twice in the Bible. Saul’s love was selfish. Initially, Saul loved David greatly, more than anyone else’s love for David. He loved David – the word “like” (1 Sam 16:21) is Hebrew for “love” but others were not allowed to share the love. Saul would love David as long as it did not cost him anything, as long as David stay in his rightful place and as long as others did not feel the same way.

Still, David’s success was unequivocal: Not only did David have success in whatever Saul sent him to do (v 5), the Hebrew text says that he had success in all the ways he did it (v 14), and more success – the word “more” missing in NIV (v 15), and he had more success than the rest of Saul’s officers (v 30). David’s success bred fear in Saul. More success bred more fear (v 29). Nothing went right for Saul. Even the Lord’s presence bred fear in Saul (v 12, 28). David’s success bred fear in him (v 15) and his daughter’s love for David bred fear in him. When Saul asked for 100 dead Philistines as dowry (v 25), David produced 200 (v 27).

Saul’s downhill spiral was clear: When he acted on his initial fear of David (v 12), the fear did not go away (v 15) and, by the end of the chapter, he was more afraid of David than ever (v 29). Saul was not only angry he was “very angry” or “furious.” Fire covered his eyes. Now Saul not only feared David, he dreaded him. There was no rhyme or reason in Saul’s fear; David was not even the highest ranking official (v 5) and Saul never placed more than 1,000 soldiers under him (v 13). The irony is inescapable: Saul started out very angry (v 8) but ended up more afraid (v 29), but David became successful (v 14), “more successful” in Hebrew (v 15), and ended up well-known, or “very known” in Hebrew (v 30)

Saul’s rise brought joy to the kingdom (1 Sam 11:15), but David’s rise brought love and affection. No matter how much he tried to bring David down, David was still standing. Saul used the Lord’s name in vain (v 17), the Philistines as weapons (vv 17, 25), his older daughter as leverage (v 17), his youngest daughter as bait (v 21), his servants as accomplice (v 22, 24). In Hebrew, the word “bravely” (v 17) consists of two words – “valiant” and “son.” Saul urged David to fight like a son for his father (v 17).

Saul kept a keen eye on David and a spear in his hand (v 10), yet he couldn’t keep a handle on his life unraveling. His methods were heavy-handed. Three times, he entertained the thought of David’s death at the “hands” of the Philistines (vv 17, 21, 25). David played with his hand, as the Hebrew records (v 10), to heal, but Saul hurled from his hand to kill.

Conclusion: The biblical teaching model, relationship and principles are always the best. Do you build people up? Jesus orders the church to make disciples of all nations in his last address to them and to teach them to obey everything God has commanded (Matt 28:20). Do you intake God’s word? Paul challenges, “You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? (Rom 2:21). Do you pass the baton? 2 Tim 2:2 says, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”