Game of Thrones – The Women Sing

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Thread: Game of Thrones

Post Topic: The Women Sing

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Scripture: I Samuel 18:5-29

Key Verses:
⁵Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
⁶When 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 timbrels and lyres. ⁷As they danced, they sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
I Samuel 16:23

Observations

Context

King Saul had been rejected as king by God due to his continual defiance.
David, son of Jesse, had been anointed as the next king of Israel by the judge and prophet Samuel.
Saul knew he’d been rejected, but didn’t know who his replacement would be.
David had slain the giant Goliath, and now appointed as one of Saul’s officers.

Observations: The Women Sing

Saul and David and the Israelites experienced great successes against their enemies the Philistines after the fall of Goliath.
The women sang their praises of both men as the armies returned through the joyous towns.
But the women credited David with slaying 10 times as many as Saul. Whoopsie!
As would be expected, this caused great resentment with the brooding King Saul.
Saul tried and failed twice to kill David with the spear. If I was David, that would have been the end of playing the harp for the king!
Saul put David in charge of a thousand man, perhaps thinking David would die in battle. But he only experienced more success.
Saul tried to trick David into fighting 100 Philistines to win the hand of his daughter in marriage. But it backfired. David brought back evidence of 200 killed.
Saul realized that his daughter loved David, he was afraid.
They remained enemies the rest of their days.

Interpretation

Setting

The Philistines were sea people who settled along the coast before moving inland, encroaching more and more in Israelite territory. The fighting would have taken place in western Judah, from near Jerusalem to the Mediterranean Sea.

Genre

Narrative description.

Author

The author is unknown, but they had access to the records of the kings and possessed a thorough knowledge of the life and times of Samuel and the events surrounding the first kings of Israel.

Takeaways

At this point, it must be becoming obvious to King Saul that the Lord has chosen David as his successor.
He is afraid of David, but now also makes it his mission to destroy David.
The women singing David’s praises must have been worse than death for Saul.

Imagine

Saul feared the Philistine giant and sent David out to fight him in his place. He promoted David, only to have David’s accomplishments surpass his own. But it’s not just the accomplishments. It’s the fame. And the adoration. What Saul always craved, David seemed to attract without even trying. How the jealousy and hatred must have fomented in Saul, spurred on by the evil spirit that now tormented him.

Correlation

Exodus 15:1-21 – The Israelites sang triumphantly after the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. They loved to sing over their successes.
James 3:16 – For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
Proverbs 14:30 – Envy makes the bones rot. You gotta love the way Proverbs puts things. 🤨

Application

Generic Applications

Jealousy foments hatred. Saul should have humbly accepted David’s successes and thanked the Lord for this brave fighter.

Personalize it

Does it seem like God’s favor shines brighter on those around me? Or on one particular person? How can I better celebrate their success?

Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:

Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.

Daniel P Warner