Saul, whom God has left, is chasing after David because Saul knows God is with David and sees that David will surely have his kingdom.
Israel had wanted a king and he’s causing in-fighting. Having a king created a battle for power.
Israel had fought amongst themselves before, but when Israel turned on the tribe of Benjamin it was because of their sin. They fought for the sake of righteousness. Now they fight because of one man’s pettiness.
Saul knows these things about himself and about David. He sees that God is with David. He knows what it feels like when the Spirit overcame him and sent him onto victory. That wasn’t happening any more. He has been desperate to keep up appearances. He begged Samuel to not make him go back alone. Now, he’s making grand statements. He announces that God has given David into his hands.
Saul’s judging on appearances. David is consulting God and asking Him what is happening and what he should do. Saul is walking by sight and has decided that God was now on his side. Then David escapes. It doesn’t record what Saul says then.
This is the problem that happens to ministers. They make a grand statement, but then they don’t want to apologize for misunderstanding, so they come up with a theology of explanation. That’s how we get so many ideas about why people aren’t healed. Some blame it on the person’s faith (which is blaming God because He’s the giver of faith). Some blame it on the person’s sins (which Jesus never brought up when He healed every single sinner of a person that came to Him).
It happens with prophecies. They claim this or that. One example was that Trump was going to win the reelection. Instead of saying they missed the Spirit (or frankly, were likely listening to wrong spirits), they come up with an explanation of how Trump was really the president and Biden was just an imposter. No, Biden is the president. We need to admit to ourselves and others that God doesn’t mess up or miss the mark; we do. When things don’t go as we thought, it’s our thoughts that are the problem, not the Lord. We need to thank the Lord for humbling us and keep our mouths closed a little (or a lot) more.