1 SAMUEL 24
Read 1 Samuel 24:1-22
In this episode David has a golden opportunity to seize the kingship that God had promised him. And hadn’t the Lord given him this situation where, from his place in hiding, David could kill Saul and take the crown? But David was a man after the Lord’s heart and such a man does not seize the kingship that God promised but waits for it to be given to him.
After dealing with the Philistines, Saul resumed his obsessive pursuit of David. Needing to relieve himself he went into a cave, little knowing that David and his men were taking refuge further in the depths of the cave. Here was David’s chance. Saul was vulnerable, he was alone, his mind was on things other than self-defence. David’s men were aware of this opportunity and urged him to make use of his advantage, ‘this is the day the Lord spoke of when he said, “I will give your enemy into your hands”’ (v4). David took a different view. He crept up on Saul and cut off a corner of his robe. This would enable him to show to Saul that David had an opportunity to kill Saul, but he chose not to do so. We might ask, ‘why not, David, Saul is out for your blood; get your strike in first’. But v6 tells us why. David, as a godly man, respected the Lord’s wishes, and however much Saul oppressed him, David knew that Saul was the Lord’s anointed one – he was consecrated, set apart for God. To kill Saul would be an act against the Lord himself.
David then made himself known to Saul, and despite all the injustices that Saul had brought upon and the desire to kill David, David still gave Saul the respect due to the king, calling out, ‘My Lord the king’ (v5) and setting out the case for his innocence. He did not ask for mercy from Saul or ask Saul to change his heart; rather he casts he case on the Lord, ‘May the Lord judge between you and me’ (v12). In all these difficult situations between Saul and David that has been going on for years now, David has confidence in the Lord’s justice. David declared that he is not going to take action against Saul, he won’t take things in his own hands – the case in in the Lord’s hands, and it is up to the Lord to do as he sees fit. This reminds us very much of the New Testament passage in Romans 12:17ff:
‘Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, “It is mine to avenge: says the Lord (‘vengeance is mine, saith the Lord’, in the traditional translations), I will repay’.
This New Testament passage begins with the words, ‘Bless those who persecute you’ and ends with ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’. This is wonderful advice but very difficult to put into practice. As fallen, sinful human beings we want revenge, but David here shows us the right way to act when persecuted.