1 Samuel 24:1-22

We are often tempted to take matters into our own hands.  David has been anointed the future king of Israel; Saul has been chasing him all over the country and repeatedly tried to kill him.  David has every logical reason in the world to kill Saul, but David makes it very clear that the “war” between him and Saul is a one way street and that he will have no part in bringing harm to the person that God has ordained to be his king.  David has a clear understanding of authority and the sovereignty of God.  He wants no part of taking down the authority that God has established.  When we find ourselves under authority with which we do not agree; we must not be a part of taking matters into our own hands.  God calls us to obey and honor authorities because they have been established by Him.

SAUL RENEWS HIS QUEST TO KILL DAVID: Saul was temporarily distracted from David by the attack of the Philistines, but as soon as the battle was over; Saul renewed his quest to kill David.  He has three thousand soldiers that are looking to kill David who is accompanied by only four hundred men.  David has never been concerned about the odds that numbers present.  He knows that the Lord is on his side so he is in the majority no matter how many more soldiers Saul has.  Saul’s priority is clear.  He wants David killed because he sees him as a threat to his position.  Saul has forgotten that the purpose of his position is to glorify God by serving His people.  He is to protect and provide for the people under his leadership, not focus all of his energies on maintaining his own position.  We must never make it our priority to promote or protect our own positions.  God has called us to serve others.

DAVID REFUSES TO KILL SAUL: As Saul is chasing David he ends up going into a cave to use as a restroom.  It just so happens that David and his men are in the cave.  David’s men try to convince him that God has delivered Saul into his hands and that this is his opportunity to end Saul’s life.  David refuses to kill Saul because he is God’s anointed king.  David sneaks forward in the cave and cuts a piece of Saul’s robe off as proof that he could have killed Saul.  David repents of having even cut the kings clothes as it was dishonoring God’s king.  It would have been very easy to rationalize the killing of Saul as David’s men had done, but David is clearly being guided by the Lord and will not rationalize what he knows to be sin.  We would do well to remember to leave things in the hands of God and not try to rationalize our own sin because of circumstances that we might face.

DAVID REVEALS HIMSELF TO SAUL: Once Saul leaves, David confronts Saul by revealing himself to Saul and showing him the piece of cloth he had cut from Saul’s robe.  David vows that he will never bring harm to Saul or his family and he pledges his loyalty to Saul.  Saul is left without a way to refute what David has proved in sparing his life.  Saul finally recognizes that David will be king and decides to go home and leave David alone.  David calls on the Lord to judge between him and Saul and Saul knows that he is in the wrong between the two of them.  It is important for us to consider how God sees and will judge our actions.  It is easy for us to rationalize our own actions and we are always justified in our own minds.  The question is: how does God see our lives and the choices we make?