1 SAMUEL 26:13- 25 [The Life of David]
DIVINE PREROGATIVES
[Psalm 54 / Luke 6:27-36]
The most significant part of a person's story is how God is able to work through events and experiences to accomplish His purpose in and for our lives. First Samuel 26 tells of another incident in which David spared Saul's life. David chooses to extend the mercy and grace that he desires God to extend to him (CIT). This Scripture story should inspire us to extend mercy and grace to those we deal with each day. Such godliness requires us to trust God to control life instead of us trying to control life and life's circumstances. Like David, we must trust that God is in control of our life.
[In chapter 25, David is insulted by Nabal, a foolish descendant of Caleb, who does not live up to his heritage in the least. David sets out fully intending to kill not only Nabal, but to take the lives of every male in his household. Only because of the wise, self-sacrificing intervention of Abigail, Nabal's wife, does David turn from hot-headed vengeance. In this encounter, Abigail assures David he will become the next king, and that leaving pay-back to God is the best course of action. David agrees, and these two part peacefully.]
Chapter 26 is another spiritual high point for David. Once again, Saul is in pursuit of him. David learns of Saul's presence and sends out scouts, who pinpoint the exact location of their camp. David and his nephew Abishai then enter the camp as the soldiers of Saul sleep the deep sleep of divine sedation (26:12). David does not allow Abishai to kill Saul, as he clearly intends to do (26:8-9, 15). Instead, only Saul's spear and water container are taken, as proof of how close they were to the king, yet unhindered by any of Saul's men.
Once a safe distance away David begins a confrontation by rebuking Abner, and then the rest of the soldiers with Saul for allowing an assassin to approach their king. This is a crime worthy of death, David informs them it was he who saved the king's life, not any of them. How can it be, David proposes, that the one who saves the king is hunted as though an assassin[, while those worthy of death because they did not protect their king are the ones who seek his life]?
I. A DIVINE PROTECTION, 26:9-12.
II. A DISTANT PRODDING, 26:13–16.
III. A DRIVING PURSUIT, 18-20.
IV. A DELIVERANCE PLEADED / IMPLORED, 26:21–25.
Let's go over a little BACKGROUND. The last time David encountered Saul, Saul said, "David, I've been wrong in chasing you. You're a bigger and better man that I am" (24:16–22). Our text indicates that, although David knew Saul's army was coming, he didn't believe Saul himself was leading the charge. Evidently, David believed Saul meant what he said at En-gedi—until his scouts confirmed the worst. Saul was not a man of his word. Actions reveal the truth or falseness of man's professions.
It hadn't take much for Saul to take up the chase again. This time it was news from the Calebites in the Wilderness of Zith that David was "hiding in the hill of Hachilah" (v. 1). Once again Saul learned from the Ziphites about David's place of hiding, so the king and 3,000 chosen men went [to the hill of Hakilah (23:19) in the Desert of Ziph] to search for David. Saul slept in the center of his camp, with 3,000 of his special forces protecting him.
I. A DIVINE PROTECTION, 26: 9-12.
[A dictator says, "Go." A leader says, "Let's go." David is a true leader. Jesus, our Greater than David, neither asks us to go where He hasn't gone before (Hebrews 4:15), nor where He won't go with us (Matthew 28:20).]
Under normal circumstances, this would have been considered a suicide mission. Again the Lord miraculously delivered His chosen one. One of David's most courageous soldiers, Abishai, volunteered to accompany David into the camp. Abishai, was a skilled soldier and the brother of Joab (26:6; 2 Sam. 2:24; 10:14; 18:12; 21:17; 23:18). They were so close to the sleeping king that David retrieved both his spear and water jug (1 Sam. 26:5-12).
This is at least the second time David has the opportunity to get rid of his enemy. But it wasn't an opportunity. It was a test for David to prove whether he would take things into his own hands or wait upon the Lord. Again David dared not harm the Lord‘s anointed (vv. 9, 11, 23; 24:6, 10).
David's faithful companion is about to kill Saul when David stops him in verse 9. "But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without guilt?"
Sometimes danger comes to us not only from unspiritual enemies like Saul, but from overzealous friends like Abishai. We must realize that we cannot do wrong even in order to execute justice. Even when close friends counsel us to do what seems expedient we must always heed God Word first. David knew Saul was still the anointed instrument in God's hand to work in his own life. Therefore, he wisely refused Abishai's offer to kill Saul. David does not spare the king's life out of fear but out of respect for his being God's anointed leader and as we will learn out of reverence for God's right to remove the king when God deems the time is right.
Your enemies figure into God's plan for you. God hasn't given up on them yet. They may be out of God's will, but they are not out of God's reach. You honor God when you see them not as your problem but as part of His plan and maybe even His work in progress. These important decisions need to be made before the temptation presents itself.
In verses 10 & 11 we observe David's faith that God is watching over life to implement His just purpose and plan. "David also said, "As the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish. [11] "The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go."
David expresses the belief that one day Saul would met his Maker and get what is coming to him. When or under what circumstance must lie in God's hands, not in David's (Ps. 109:6-9). David might not have respected the man, but he must respect that it was God who place him in his office.
God has not assigned us the task of vengeance. Vengeance belongs with God and in His time and way, He will repay. God has His purposes and we must develop patience as we await His timing. David would allow God to place him on the throne in His time and way.
How important it is for us to learn to leave vengeance to the Lord. We cannot improve upon God's designs for us. If we take things into our own hand we just mess it up even more. It is so critical that we let God defend us. [Smith, Chuck. Word For Today Bible. Nelson Bibles 2005. Nashville, TN. p. 387.] [Also see Jesus' teaching in Luke 6:29-30.]
While David wouldn't allow physical harm to come to Saul, he felt the need to prove what he could have done. He thus took the spear and a canteen like water jug and retreated to a spot above and away from the camp.
It's not until the brazen adventure was over that the narrator reveals in verse 12 that "a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them" helping us to understand how they were able to carry out their feat undetected. "So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.
It was because of a deep sleep from the Lord that brought success instead of death to David and his nephew. Saul's efforts were frustrated by God's activity, not David's cunning. One of the most natural and dangerous tendencies of many Christians is to ask for God's help in our difficult times and afterward to act like we made it on our own. [Chafin, Kenneth. The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol 8: 1, 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1989, S. 189].
II. A DISTANT PRODDING, 26:13–16.
As day was breaking, David and Abishai made their way to a suitable hill across from Saul's camp. There David loudly calls out in the still night air to General Abner, "Rise and shine!" in verses 13 & 14. "Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. [14] "David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Will you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"
After crossing the ravine opposite Saul, David shouted to Abner, who supposedly guarded Saul, and tauntingly chided him for his carelessness. The king's spear and water jug in David's hand were sufficient evidence of their failure.
Here, we see David modeling the truth that the righteous are as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1). Not only did he sneak into Saul's camp, but he challenges Abner's authority. This reminds me of Paul before Agrippa at the amphitheater at Caesarea, of Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms, of John Knox before Queen Mary.
You will not tremble in the presence of man if you have trembled in the presence of God. When I find myself afraid of people, it's an indication that I haven't been in the presence of the Lord. When I spend time with God, I find peace, confidence, and boldness.
In verses15 & 16 David continues to chide Abner for his inattention. "So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord.
[16] "This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now, see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his head."
This dialogue began between David and Abner, who was the king's representative and personally responsible for Saul's safety. Surprisingly, David condemns Abner and all the soldiers for not doing a better job of guarding the "Lord's anointed" (vv. 14–16). You must surely die, is literally "you are surely sons of death." Abner was guilty of neglect of duty and could be disciplined, even put to death for it.
To prove that they had neglected their guard duty he showed them the spear and jug that he and Abishai had brought back from the camp. The whole point of the story was that those who had come hunting David had themselves been found by David, and he could have killed their king had he desired. This would counteract any effort to paint David as a person who had betrayed his king.
It was Saul who first recognized David's voice and called out to him. David acknowledged him as "my lord, O king" in verse 17. "Then Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And David said, "It is my voice, my lord the king."
Saul awoke and recognized David's voice. Then he calls out to David.
III. A DRIVING PURSUIT, 18-20.
David also has a word for his king. The heart of the chapter is found in David's appeal to Saul in verses 18–20. David insisted in verse 18 that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and pleaded with Saul to tell him of any wrong that he had done. "He also said, "Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?
Once again David tries to reason with Saul and show him he is wrong. Once more David petitions to be left alone. Once again he affirms his loyalty to Saul and once again asks again why Saul is seeking his life. David is no threat to the king.
David then indicates to the king in verse 19 that there must be those stirring him up against David, and wrongly so. "Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.'
There are two interesting aspects of this particular plea to Saul. First, David tries to explore with Saul the source of his feelings about David. If God were leading Saul in the pursuit, to punish him because he'd been wrong, then David would repent [and offer a sacrifice]. If Saul is the instrument of chastening because He's out of line, David offers to make a sacrifice to God & to ask for forgiveness.
If, however, men were responsible, David then suggests that those stirring up the king be cursed before the Lord. They were the offenders, not David. [He justifies his feelings because] they had intervened in God's purposes by driving David from both his home (inheritance) and his public worship of God (Go, serve other gods). They were attempting to push David away from the worship of God. They would pay for their sins.
Saul was suspicious of David. Suspicious minds are receptive to being planted with the seeds of distrust. Suspicious minds are prone to listen to other suspicious people instead of listening to God. [In the speech recorded in 24:9 there is the hint that maybe evil men have planted false rumors in Saul's mind.]
Notice that David's primary complaint against his enemies was not that they had forced him into exile, but that they had prevented him access to worshiping with His people. [19c] "for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods." The devil's henchmen want to keep us from participating in the public worship of God.
David pleas in verse 20 to be able to return to God's house of worship. "Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."
David pleads with Saul not to force him to leave this land so that his blood would be shed on foreign soil (26:17-20). David's appeal reflects his feeling that Saul's pursuit has driven him from his friends, from the normal pursuits of life, and even away from the places where God is worshiped in Judah. When Israel had been in the wilderness God related to them as a covenant community not connected to place. When they arrived in the Promised Land a natural temptations was to limit God to that place. For a similar reason some never refer to the place where we worship as the "church" but as the "meeting house." Their contention is that the church is the community of believers and the meeting house is where it meets to worship. That is a good distinction to make but not always an easy one.
IV. A DELIVERANCE IMPLORED / PLEADED, 26:21–25.
As was true with David's other such requests, Saul not only had no charges to make but freely admitted that he had wronged David and promised never again to seek to harm him in verse 21. "Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error."
So evident to Saul was God's protection of his young rival that he could only confess his own wickedness.
Although Saul doesn't know it, he's about to die. This statement, "I have played the fool and have committed a serious error" is his personal epitaph.
I wonder what it must feel like to be seventy, eighty, or ninety—headed toward your eternal destiny—and realize, "I've been a fool. I've pursued things I shouldn't have pursued." I believe a primary message of the Bible is that we should live as those who will give an account. In other words we should live as one who is daily watching for the Lord's coming.
After Saul's confession and promise never to pursue David again, the spear is returned to the king in verse 22. "David replied, "Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it."
While the promises didn't last long, that they were made serves as a reminder of David's innocence and of Saul's inability to control his deeply rooted hatred of David. There may have been a time when Saul could have kept the resolve of his heart, but that was long ago. His pathetic condition is a reminder that habits of thought and action that we willfully introduce into our lives, thinking that we can control them, if they remain long enough, get such a grip upon us that we are no longer able to exorcize them.
As a token of his goodwill David returns the spear that Saul had used to try an kill him more than once. [Nothing is said about the water jar.]
David concluded this confrontation in verse 23 with a declaration of his firm belief in God as the One who judges righteously and rewards the upright. "The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed.
David expects God to reward him for his righteousness and to value his life as highly as David had valued the life of Saul. And God did. Even David's heroic daring escaped into the enemies camp and its success was only possible thanks to supernatural intervention. Laying a supernatural sleep upon the whole camp of soldiers is only one example of how Yahweh showed His valuing of David's life.
God is repaying and will repay yours righteousness and faithfulness also.
Chapter 26 draws to a close with David's reminder that he has again spared Saul's life and with the prayer that God may be as good to David as David has been to Saul in verse 24. "Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He deliver me from all distress."
While his name isn't called, there is a strong inference that Saul is the one to suffer God's judgment.
Saul recognize fully and finally that David was destined to be the shepherd of Israel in verse 25. ‘Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.'
Saul confesses his guilt and acknowledges that David will "accomplish much and surely prevail." He indirectly promises David he will cease pursuing him, and thus he invites him to "return" (26:21). I take it he is encouraging David to "return" to worship, without fear for his life.
If a person did not know the true dynamic of the relationship he would be moved by Saul's reference to David as "my son David", but the real situation is revealed by "David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place." Nothing had changed, and nothing would change in the relationship.
Saul goes back to his palace and never sees David again. [So far as can be determined Saul became resigned to his fate and never again tried to interfere with the will of God for the kingdom and its next anointed leader (27:4). [Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, P. 452.] He slinks off the pages of Scripture by his own summary conclusion: I have played the fool. I have erred greatly.
The first time David had a chance to deal with Saul, he cut the hem of his garment, and later was convicted. Now, David's heart does not smite him because he doesn't touch Saul at all.
Before the week is over, you'll have an opportunity to lop off a head, to snip a garment, or to make a comment. But perhaps the Lord would say to you, "There's a better way." I pray that the power of the Word being heard and received will change us from glory to glory—from a Saul to a David. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary: Vol. 1: Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2005, S. 889.]
When I study the Scriptures I try to find myself in the stories. As I have thought about Saul's hatred of David, I have thought of people who hate me and who try to do me harm. As I have thought about David's transparency in his efforts to be reconciled to Saul, I think of those times I have reached out to people without success. But even as I had these thoughts I had to admit that I wasn't being entirely honest with myself. For just as often I have played Saul's role. I've harbored feelings that I was afraid to analyze, have found it hard to admit that I might be wrong in my evaluation, and often collect only material that substantiates conclusions I have no intention of abandoning. My prayer is that God will not abandon me to my prejudices and my stubbornness, but will work to keep me open to the possibilities of getting rid of an enemy by becoming a friend. [Chafin, Ken, S. 190.]
IN CLOSING
Our fallen human nature may want our will or at least to speed the will of God along more often than not. We often feel like jumping in and helping God work things out. We though need to wait upon the Lord to fulfill His work in His time and in His way. Just like David we need to wait for God's purposes to be worked out by God. For the heart that profoundly believes in the excellences of God's will, and the duty and privilege of accepting His arrangements, will not desire to thwart that will in any matter, great or small. For how can any good come in the end from forcing forward arrangements that are out of the will of God's? ..... If even for a moment it seems to bring an advantage in one direction, it is sure to be followed by placing us even further out of His divine design for our life.
Do we really desire the full impact of praying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Be very sure that there is no impatience in heaven for a speedier fulfilment of God's will than God has ordained. There is no desire in heaven to force on the wheels of Providence if they do not seem to be moving fast enough.
Let it be so with us. Let us fix in our minds as an immovable principle for our lives, that as God knows best how to order His providence, so any interference with Him is rash and perilous, and wicked too. Let us realize that it is our duty and our interest to say to God, in the commitment of full and unreserved trust- "Yet not my will, but Thine be done."
