1 Samuel 20:24–42 Saul’s Anger Against David

[Study Aired June 8, 2026]

In today’s study, our focus will be centered on three areas – Saul’s questioning Jonathan about David’s absence, His anger towards David, when he realized that he had intentionally absent himself from the New Moon feast and Jonathan’s signal to give direction to David regarding what he should do. 

The chapter ends with David and Jonathan sharing an emotional farewell as they part ways, while comforting themselves of the covenant they swore to each other in the name of the Lord.

Saul Questions David’s Absence

1Sa 20:24  So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 
1Sa 20:25  And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty. 
1Sa 20:26  Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 

As indicated in our previous study, David hiding himself signifies David taking refuge in Christ as His protector, redeemer, comforter, etc. 

Psa 32:7  Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. 
Psa 32:8  I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.  

It is instructive to note that David hid himself in the field which symbolizes the world. This reminds us of our Lord Jesus Christ while he was here on earth. The people wanted to kill him after His sermon in the synagogue as they thrust Him out of the city. However, he escaped by going through the midst of the people. Spiritually, our hiding place is being in Christ. Outwardly, being in the midst of the people of the world hides us from our Babylonian brothers and sisters who want to harm us.

Joh 8:59  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Luk 4:20  And he (Jesus) closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 
Luk 4:22  And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 
Luk 4:23  And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 
Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way. 

Here in verse 24. King Saul sat down to eat meat as part of the new moon festivities. Saul represents our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world. Saul, sitting at table to eat meat at the new moon implies that it is the church system of this world which observes days, months, times and years, which is part of the weak and beggarly elements, which disqualify us for the prize of the higher calling of the Lord. 

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.    

It was while Saul sat at the table to eat meat that he noticed that David was missing. Initially, he thought that David’s absence was due to his sinful deeds. This implies that what our brothers and sisters feed on in terms of the word of the Lord, only cause them to regard us, His elect, as being sinful, just as the Pharisees regarded Jesus as being sinful as they accused Him of possessing demons, blaspheming and associating with sinners. As the Lord is, so are we in this life. If the church system of Jesus’ days accused Him of being a sinner, they will do the same with us. 

1Pe 4:3  For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 
1Pe 4:4  With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; (ESV)

Mar 3:22  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 
Joh 15:21  But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 

1Sa 20:27  And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? </b
1Sa 20:28  And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: 
1Sa 20:29  And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table. 

It was on the second day of the month that Saul noticed David’s absence from their New Moon feast. The second day in the scriptures, in the negative context, signifies the time in our lives as the Lord’s elect that we come to see the enmity against us by our brothers and sisters in Babylon, after our escape from Babylon. 

Jdg 20:24  And the children of Israel (our Babylonian brothers and sisters) came near against the children of Benjamin (the Lord’s elect) the second day.
Jdg 20:25  And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

Jonathan, a symbol of the Lord’s elect still trapped in Babylon, tried to explain to Saul, that David asked for permission to visit his family in Bethlehem. It is insightful to note that Bethlehem means ‘the house of bread.’ What this implies is that David’s destination after leaving Babylon was to join the church of the Lord’s elect (Bethlehem) or the church of the firstborn or the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 

As stated in verse 29, Jonathan told his father Saul that David was going to join his family for a sacrifice in Bethlehem. It is through what every joint supplies in the gathering of the family of the Lord’s elect, that we can offer ourselves as living sacrifice to the Lord. 

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Our exit from our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world is what draws out their hatred against us, making us come to see clearly the deplorable state of the church. Their hatred against us becomes obvious as they consider us, the Lord’s elect, as spiritually dead in the streets of the church system of this world or Jerusalem. 

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 
Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  

1Sa 20:30  Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? 

As indicated, Saul’s anger against his son, Jonathan, who was an elect but still trapped in Babylon,  shows us the hatred of the church system of this world against the Lord’s elect. What Saul said in his anger against Jonathan speaks volumes of the church system of this world or Babylon. Saul referred to his son as the son of the perverse rebellious woman in verse 30. This is a concise and clear description of the woman who represents the church system of this world, who rebels against her husband Christ and is a harlot. 

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

Saul also made a profound statement to Jonathan in verse 30 by saying that choosing David, the son of Jesse, amounts to unveiling his own confusion and his mother’s nakedness. Jonathan’s mother signifies Babylon. This shows why our brothers and sisters in Babylon do not want to recognize us as the Lord’s elect. This is because doing so means bearing witness to their confusion and also unveiling the sinful state of the church system, which is symbolized by Jonathan’s mother’s nakedness. That is why the church system of this world hates us and considers us as dead in their corridors of worship or the streets of Jerusalem.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 

1Sa 20:31  For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 

Saul’s statement in verse 31 that as long as David lives, he, Jonathan shall not inherit the promise of being established in the kingdom. This is a prophesy that it is the Lord’s elect who shall be established and reign as kings with Christ at the expense of our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world. In other words, we, His elect, have obtained mercy at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Babylon in this age, to reign with Christ in the fullness of time. 

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

The fact that Saul told Jonathan in verse 31 that David must surely die attests to the fact that our brothers and sisters see us as spiritually dead in the street of Jerusalem where our Lord was crucified. 

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 

1Sa 20:32  And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 
1Sa 20:33  And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. 
1Sa 20:34  So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 

It is at this point that Jonathan came to realize that his father Saul intended to kill David. The throwing of Saul’s javelin to smite Jonathan served as a witness of Saul’s intention to kill David. As indicated in previous studies, the javelin in the hand of Saul signifies false doctrines which comes out of the smoke from his bottomless pit or his heart and mind, which darkens the sun and the air. That is to say that the javelin thrown at Jonathan in verse 33 represents the false doctrines which darken our understanding of the word of truth and makes us spiritually dead while in Babylon. 

Although the javelin thrown at Jonathan did not slay him, it was a sign for him to escape Babylon with David. However, unlike Moses, who left the king’s palace in Egypt to suffer with the Lord’s people, Jonathan did not run away with David as he was not ready to suffer with David for the Lord’s sake. As we shall see later in the study, he ended up dying with his father Saul.

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

In verse 34, Jonathan refused to eat meat on the second day of the feast as he grieved for David. This suggest that Jonathan stopped imbibing the false doctrines spewed in the streets of Babylon and was concerned about the Lord’s elect (David). There are few people in Babylon who are aware of the damnable heresies spewed in Babylon and have come to appreciate the word of the Lord through the Lord’s elect. However, they do not want to leave Babylon because of their strong ties with the brothers and sisters there. Just as Jonathan died with his father Saul, such people run the risk of becoming spiritually dead.

2Sa 1:4  And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. 

2Sa 1:11  Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 
2Sa 1:12  And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.     

Jonathan’s Signal to Give Direction to David

1Sa 20:35  And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. 
1Sa 20:36  And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 
1Sa 20:37  And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? 
1Sa 20:38  And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 
1Sa 20:39  But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 

As shown in the previous study, when Jonathan tells the young lad that the arrows he shot were close by, then it means that David’s life was not in danger. The rationale behind this riddle is that if what we are looking for is close by, then we do not need to exert effort to find it. That is the greasy kind of religion which permeates the church system of this world where we thought we were already saved and therefore did not need to strive for the mastery. The Lord wants us to persevere in our quest to know Him. 

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

On the other hand, if the arrows shot by Jonathan are beyond the reach of the young man, it signifies that the judgment of the Lord is at hand and that David must run for his life. It also means that Lord intentionally hides His truths, mysteries, and deep wisdom, and as the Lord’s royals or elect, we must search for it. This searching out is a lifetime pursuit which involves hearing the voice of the Lord in the midst of the fire of our affliction. 

Pro 25:2  It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings (the Lord’s elect) is to search out a matter. 

Deu 4:36  Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.   

As shown in verses 36 and 37, Jonathan told the young lad that the arrows were beyond him. This implies that the judgment of the Lord is nigh to David and that he must run for his life as a scapegoat let loose in the wilderness to complement the suffering of Christ.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:  

The lad not knowing Jonathan’s signal for David to run away implies that when we were young in the faith during our time in the churches of this world, we did not know about the mysteries of the kingdom as we had not been given the keys of David yet. 

Isa 22:22  And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

1Sa 20:40  And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 
1Sa 20:41  And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 
1Sa 20:42  And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. 

Jonathan giving the young lad his artillery in verse 40, to be taken back to the city symbolically shows how Jonathan’s heart is attached to the city, which represents the church system of this world or Babylon. As a result, he could not leave Babylon with David. He was not ready to suffer reproach as we go to meet the Lord outside the camp of the church system of this world. 

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 
Heb 13:14  For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.  

In verse 42, Jonathan going back to the city as David departed as a scapegoat into the wilderness shows how the Lord separates us for His purpose even from those who have been helpful to us in our earlier walk with Christ. It also shows how David was prepared to suffer in his pursuit of Christ while Jonathan was not ready to leave Babylon to suffer reproach. As the deer pants for the water, so was David’s heart (the heart of the Lord’s elect) focused on Christ. 

Psa 42:1  To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Psa 42:2  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 

We thank the Lord for how far He has brought us in our walk with Him, and our prayer is that He continues to uphold us in Him to the very end. Amen!!