I Samuel 24:1-22
“And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.” (I Samuel 24:1)
The Philistine invasion had forced Saul to withdraw from pursuing David, and allowed him to escape to Engedi. After defeating the Philistines, Saul returned with three thousand men when he found out where David was. In and area that was equipped for keeping sheep at night there was a cave where the shepherds often stayed, and Saul decided to sleep there. He didn’t realize David and his men were hidden deeper in the same cave.
“And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.” (I Samuel 24:4)
David’s men saw this as the best opportunity to kill Saul they were likely to get. As they saw it, God had placed Saul in a position where they could do whatever they wanted to him while he was sleeping. It seemed like God wanted them to kill him., and David’s decision to just cut off a piece of his robe must have seemed kind of dumb. After all, Saul was trying to kill him.
“And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.” (I Samuel 24:5-7)
David even felt guilty about cutting off the piece of Saul’s robe. God had made Saul king, and what right did David have to try to take it away from him or kill him. He refused to allow his followers to harm Saul. It was a decision that would cost him dearly, but later, in Acts 13:22, God said, “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”
“David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed. 1 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.” (I Samuel 24:8-14)
After Saul left the cave, David revealed himself and showed the piece of material as proof that he could have easily killed Saul but had chosen not to because he didn’t consider him and enemy, and refused to kill him because he was God’s anointed. Clearly he was not trying to usurp Saul’s throne, despite what Saul might believe.
An old proverb said that wicked people do wicked things, but David was refusing to do wickedness, even for his own protection. He would depend on God to judge who was doing right instead, but Saul had no reason to fear him.
“And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.” (I Samuel 24:16-19)
Once again, Saul acknowledged that his hatred of David was irrational and wicked. He even wept tears of sorrow for what he was doing, and told how good David had been, asking that God would bless him.
“And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.” (I Samuel 24:20-21)
Saul concludes by acknowledging that he knew God had chosen David to be the king who would establish the kingdom on a firm basis. He requested that David promise not to destroy his family when he came to power.
Knowing he knew this, it was exceedingly wicked for him to keep on trying to prevent God from having his way. Unfortunately, even a Christian can become so selfish and self centered they have no interest in what God wants, just trying to force things to turn out the way they want. That attitude would eventually cost the lives of all his sons.
“And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.” (I Samuel 24:22)
David readily agreed to Saul’s request, and Saul went home. While Saul was sincere in his repentance at the moment, David didn’t forget that he had promised not to try to kill him before. David and his men went back to their stronghold where they’d be safe if he changed his mind.
Like many other people, Saul made an emotional commitment. Unfortunately, emotions are very changeable, and commitments based on them tend to change when they do. David didn’t have a lot of faith in Saul’s commitment.
“And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.” (I Samuel 24:1)
The Philistine invasion had forced Saul to withdraw from pursuing David, and allowed him to escape to Engedi. After defeating the Philistines, Saul returned with three thousand men when he found out where David was. In and area that was equipped for keeping sheep at night there was a cave where the shepherds often stayed, and Saul decided to sleep there. He didn’t realize David and his men were hidden deeper in the same cave.
“And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.” (I Samuel 24:4)
David’s men saw this as the best opportunity to kill Saul they were likely to get. As they saw it, God had placed Saul in a position where they could do whatever they wanted to him while he was sleeping. It seemed like God wanted them to kill him., and David’s decision to just cut off a piece of his robe must have seemed kind of dumb. After all, Saul was trying to kill him.
“And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.” (I Samuel 24:5-7)
David even felt guilty about cutting off the piece of Saul’s robe. God had made Saul king, and what right did David have to try to take it away from him or kill him. He refused to allow his followers to harm Saul. It was a decision that would cost him dearly, but later, in Acts 13:22, God said, “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”
“David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed. 1 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.” (I Samuel 24:8-14)
After Saul left the cave, David revealed himself and showed the piece of material as proof that he could have easily killed Saul but had chosen not to because he didn’t consider him and enemy, and refused to kill him because he was God’s anointed. Clearly he was not trying to usurp Saul’s throne, despite what Saul might believe.
An old proverb said that wicked people do wicked things, but David was refusing to do wickedness, even for his own protection. He would depend on God to judge who was doing right instead, but Saul had no reason to fear him.
“And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.” (I Samuel 24:16-19)
Once again, Saul acknowledged that his hatred of David was irrational and wicked. He even wept tears of sorrow for what he was doing, and told how good David had been, asking that God would bless him.
“And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.” (I Samuel 24:20-21)
Saul concludes by acknowledging that he knew God had chosen David to be the king who would establish the kingdom on a firm basis. He requested that David promise not to destroy his family when he came to power.
Knowing he knew this, it was exceedingly wicked for him to keep on trying to prevent God from having his way. Unfortunately, even a Christian can become so selfish and self centered they have no interest in what God wants, just trying to force things to turn out the way they want. That attitude would eventually cost the lives of all his sons.
“And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.” (I Samuel 24:22)
David readily agreed to Saul’s request, and Saul went home. While Saul was sincere in his repentance at the moment, David didn’t forget that he had promised not to try to kill him before. David and his men went back to their stronghold where they’d be safe if he changed his mind.
Like many other people, Saul made an emotional commitment. Unfortunately, emotions are very changeable, and commitments based on them tend to change when they do. David didn’t have a lot of faith in Saul’s commitment.
Faith seems to be synonymous with emotion lately; and when emotion wanes so too does "faith." How much of so much of our Christianity is not based upon solid evidence and reason, as led by the Holy Spirit, but by whipped up emotions? Felt needs and feeling good all the time have taken the place of a faith that endures trouble and hardship, and the Church has lost something utterly vital because of this. Saul's faith was swayed by "any wind of doctrine" and as Paul says, is childish.
ReplyDeleteI will never forget in the Survivor Africa series, one of the contestants was a black lady who described being in Africa as being a spiritual experience. While it was very emotional, it was not spiritual at all, but it pointed out the confusion in our day about what spiritual means. Satan frequently manipulates emotions to gain control of people's minds, and they childishly base their decisions on those emotions rather than on reality.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Faith is not emotion's enemy; emotion is supposed to be roused by a steadfast faith securely grounded in objective truth. We bypass the apprehension of truth and have this "blind faith" that withers when the weather becomes cloudy. Faith should be the engine; emotion should be somewhere in the caboose. Faith sees the destination and goes forth, no matter how emotion turns because something is true no matter how we feel, therefore emotion should have no say about the reality of God and His promises in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI like your illustration, When things are working like they should. the the caboose(the emotions) are powered and brought along by the engine. The caboose can only pull the train down hill. and only if the engine has failed or come uncoupled. In such a case a crash is almost certain.
ReplyDelete