Jacob Chanikuzhy

Success never comes without a price tag. The writer of Ecclesiastes has already warned the readers about the vanity of our success by confiding that success makes others envious of us (Cf. Eccl 4,4). The success that David, the future king of Israel, enjoyed while serving at the court of King Saul, cost him not simply money or power but the reputation and security of his life itself. The great success he achieved by killing Goliath made David a hero among the people of his nation. Israelite women acclaimed Saul and David, chanting, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Sam 18,7). The people were just but not wise in praising David in the presence of King Saul. The People’s acclamations filled King Saul with envy. The People admired the bravery of David, and Saul too. But Saul’s admiration for David took a different form. As Victor Hugo puts it, “The wicked envy and hate; it is their way of admiring.” King Saul was full of envy and hatred for David. “Hatred is active, and envy is passive dislike; there is but one step from envy to hate,” reminds Wolfgang Goethe. Within no time, the envy of King Saul transformed into active hatred.
In fact, it was Jonathan who should have been envious of David because Jonathan was the legitimate heir to the throne of Israel after the death of King Saul. The military success and popularity of David should have troubled Jonathan. But Jonathan had such a noble character that he never envied the success of his friend David. To everyone’s dismay, Jonathan was so attached to David at first sight that he swore his loyalty to him and entered into a contract with him, securing David’s favour for his family. He was so generous and affectionate to David that he clothed him with his own royal garments and weapons – perhaps in anticipation of the transference of kingship from Jonathan to David. All throughout his life, Jonathan manifested the true nature of a friend – a friend in need! He even risked his life and reputation by mediating for David and saving him from the outrage of his father.
David was Yahweh’s favourite. But, the cruelty and envy of the incumbent king Saul made David’s life as miserable as sin. Although David was God’s anointed one, King Saul who was under the spell of an evil spirit, shamelessly tried to annihilate David exactly at the moments when David was playing the harp to soothe the spirit of Saul. Saul humiliated and tried to provoke David by first proposing his elder daughter Merab and later giving her to Adriel. He then tried to endanger the life of David by telling him that he would give his younger daughter Michal to David, provided he managed to kill a hundred Philistines. In his crooked heart, Saul hoped that the Philistines would finish off David. David did not object to the new proposal, citing the previous deception on the part of the king. He became all the more popular by killing 200 Philistines. The meanness and brutality of Saul became manifest one more time when he sent soldiers to the house of the newlyweds David and Michal with the explicit command to kill David as soon as he got out of the house. Such ungrateful and repeated attempts at his life made David run away from the king – an act that would brand him as a dissident. The king who envied David thus became a fearsome monster and started hunting God’s chosen. In his utter selfishness, he ignored how courageously David fought for the glory of his nation. Saul also neglected the service David rendered to him as his musician. Saul was blinded by his envy and was determined to destroy the anointed one of God.
However, God had his own ways to protect David from the irrational wrath of the malicious king. God arranged Jonathan, the son of Saul, Michael, the daughter of Saul, and Prophet Samuel to save David’s life. The conflict ends with David’s enthronement and Saul’s suicide. The tragic end of an anointed but wicked king promptly warns all against harassing and hunting the anointed innocent ones of God.