Neville Goddard on 1 Samuel 19:2-18 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Samuel 19 in context

Scripture Focus

2But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

4And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:

5For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

6And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.

7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

8And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

9And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.

10And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

11Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

12So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

13And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

15And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

16And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.

17And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

18So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

1 Samuel 19:2-18

Biblical Context

Jonathan informs David that Saul seeks to kill him. David hides in a secret place and escapes, aided by Michal's ruse.

Neville's Inner Vision

All the action in this story is a drama of consciousness. Saul's fear and violent intent are the outer weather of the mind; Jonathan's loyalty and clear talk are the inner voice that speaks truth to fear. David embodies the essential self—the I AM—that cannot be killed by appearances. When Jonathan tells David to hide until morning, he teaches a practical inner move: rest in a secure state in consciousness, and let the outer scene unfold without surrendering your sense of safety. David's flight and Michal's ruse illustrate the power of imagination to preserve life until a new inner arrangement arises; the image in the bed is the appearance that must be rearranged in order for truth to stand. The great salvation is the inward revelation that your awareness remains untouched by other people's actions. As you hold the assumption that you are safe in the I AM, you release fear's javelins and discover that the surrounding world rearranges itself to reflect your vital inner state. Thus faith, trust, and imaginative revision establish justice and deliverance in your present life.