The transition from indirect attempts at harm to direct commands marks a dramatic escalation in a king's pursuit of his rival. Driven by the fear of losing his throne, the monarch turns to his closest inner circle to execute his will, only to encounter an unbreakable wall of unconditional loyalty from his own son. After earlier efforts to eliminate David under the disguise of accidents—such as throwing a spear or sending him to the frontlines against the Philistines—ended in failure, Saul decides to take deliberate action through his messengers [מלבי״ם]. The king recognized that God was with David and that his rival was succeeding in all his ways, cementing Saul's realization that David was ultimately destined to inherit the throne [אברבנאל].
Despite the clear nature of the command, the primary approach among commentators is that this was not intended to be an official, public execution. Instead, Saul planned for the deed to be carried out with cunning. He hoped his men would provoke a quarrel with David so that he would be killed seemingly by accident, keeping the king's involvement a complete secret [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. To motivate his servants and his son to take action, Saul attempted to stir up jealousy in their hearts over David's stellar reputation and ongoing success [אברבנאל].
Standing firmly against these plots is Jonathan. Even though he is the son of David's greatest enemy, he remains steadfastly loyal and loving [חומת אנך]. His deep attachment to David reflects a profound desire for his friend's continued existence, closeness, success, and well-being [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Driven by a love that seeks to support and stay close to a righteous person [אלשיך], Jonathan completely ignores his father's dark instructions [אברבנאל].
Rather than complying, Jonathan immediately hurries to warn David and formulate a plan to protect him. He instructs David to hide in a specific field where Saul takes his daily walk. Jonathan's strategy is to casually speak with his father in that field and attempt to change his mind. Afterward, he can easily return to David's nearby hiding place to report the outcome of the conversation in total secrecy, without arousing anyone's suspicion [אברבנאל, אלשיך].