I understand it now, You are putting the evil spirit in Saul, not to have David hurt, but to show everyone that no one can hurt David because You are with him. You even control the evil spirits when You want to.
1 There’s nothing You can’t do.
“And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What is mine iniquity? And what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so” (1 Sam 20:1-2).
“Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee” (1 Sam 20:4).
The next day was the New Moon and David was expected to eat with the king and he refused not to show up.
But David said he was going to hide in the field for three days, and if Saul missed him he wanted Jonathan to tell him that he went to Beth-lehem for a yearly sacrifice for his family.
“If he say thus, It is well…but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant…if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field.
And Jonathan said David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee.
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not.
But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David everyone from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.
But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.
And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me forever” (1 Sam 20:7-23).
So David hid himself in the field, and King Saul sat at the table.
“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, neitehr yesterday, nor today?
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem:
…for our family hath a sacrifice in the city…Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table.
Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan…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?
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.
And Jonathan answered…Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done?
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
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.
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.
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.
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?
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
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.
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” (1 Sam 20:27-42).
1 God is always in control. I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things (Is 45:7).“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand” (Deut 32:39).
The Pass at Micmash
Reference to a specific geographic feature is not typical in Scripture, but the geographic details of the pass near Micmash and Geba are carefully described in Sam 14:5.
Most north/south traffic in the hill country follows the watershed ridge, because of the deeply cutting ravines (wadis) on either side.
The mile-wide break in the otherwise steep cliffs of the Wadi Suwenit allowed for the existence of a secondary route in the territory of Benjamin, which paralleled the watershed ridge route and came to be known simply as “the pass.”
During the time of King Saul the Philistines guarded this pass, but Jonathan and his armor-bearer surprised the enemy garrison by circumventing it and climbing the steep cliffs of Bozez and Seneh.
Isaiah prophesied of a terrifying army that would travel along this road, leaving baggage at Micmash and spending the night at Geba.
Asa’s earlier fortifications of Geba were also an apparent recognition of the importance of this route.
Scholars routinely identify Micmash with the modem Arab village of Mukhmas, nearly 7 miles (11.2 km) northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
However, very few Iron Age remains have been found there, and thus some suggest that Micmash may have been at Khirbet el-Hara el-Fawqa, less than 1 mile (1.6km) farther north – a spot at which researchers have found both Iron I and II Age sherds.