{"id":59123,"date":"2019-07-09T13:47:39","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T10:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59123"},"modified":"2023-02-05T13:36:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-05T11:36:49","slug":"saul-and-david-navigating-a-difficult-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-and-david-navigating-a-difficult-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"Saul And David: Navigating A Difficult Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[834,386,468,885],"acf":{"old_id":"59123","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"260","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Reading the story from the mental health angle","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The very troubled and troubling relationship between David and Saul comes to a head when David flees to Gath in the land of the Philistines. David has been suffering relentless persecution by the king, Saul, for some time now, resulting in him living in hiding in fear of being found and killed. Eventually he feels his only option is to leave his land and seek protection from the Philistines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the David and Saul story has so many more layers than just persecuted\/persecutor. On the surface it reads like a disturbing abusive relationship scenario. Saul repeatedly sets out to attack David; David understands he\u2019s at risk and goes into hiding; then David eventually comes forward, tries to repair the relationship, and accepts Saul\u2019s apparent remorse and rehabilitation \u2013 only to have the pattern repeat. But at the same time, the Tanach and commentaries often speak glorifyingly of Saul\u2019s humility, modesty and dedication to his people, the kingship and God.\u00a0 How do we reconcile these conflicting personas of tormentor and holy, committed prophet and king?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Saul narrative openly speaks of his mental illness, referring frequently to his deep depression and linking each \u201coutburst\u201d phase of his behaviour to a decline in his mental health. But when Saul is well, he clearly demonstrates his reverence for David and commitment to God. David evidently recognized that it\u2019s not \u201cthe real Saul\u201d who was persecuting him but rather that Saul too was a victim of his illness. The real Saul was the God-fearing, dedicated king \u2013 it just didn\u2019t shine through all that often.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a time when mental health was little spoken of, likely heavily stigmatized, and largely untreatable, David handled the situation as best he could. He kept the door open to Saul, repeatedly letting him know that a positive relationship between them was still attainable. At the same time David recognized that he had to protect himself from harm. And sadly, there came a point in time when David admitted that there was nothing more he could do for Saul and his only option was to remove himself completely from the situation. Even God himself finally withdrew from Saul in this chapter (verse 6): \u201cSaul inquired of God, and God did not answer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are very difficult chapters to comprehend but considering them through a lens of mental health education allowed this reader to at least make my peace with Saul.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":59135,"id":59135,"title":"isam28-mental health","filename":"isam28-mental-health.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam28-mental-health.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-and-david-navigating-a-difficult-relationship\/isam28-mental-health\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam28-mental-health","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":59123,"date":"2019-07-09 10:47:28","modified":"2019-07-09 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