Last week we noted from 1 Samuel Chapter 23 that King Saul and his wicked partners were in pursuit of David. King Saul had David in a corner and was ready to kill him but a miracle happened! After all the planning, plotting, scheming, lying, and cheating to get David killed, although King Saul had David in his reach, Saul stopped his pursuit because his own enemies the Philistines needed to be challenged. God was involved in David’s life and saved him from Saul because God had great plans for him.
And so, we noted for us last week, just like in David’s case, we Christians today will be pursued by wicked worldly forces but God will provide help and a way of escape because God has awesome plans for us!
Let us continue to learn from God through the story of David and Saul.
Open your Bibles to 1 Samuel 24…..
Let us pray together our commitment to God’s Word…..
Read along with me now 1 Samuel 24…..
Let us review what happened:
v1-3: Saul had 3000 men with him to hunt down David but Saul decided to go by himself in a cave!!
v3: David and his men were hiding in the cave! Coincidence? I don’t think so!
Now, look again at v4… How did the men know what God would do??
David shared God’s Word with his men!
So, God made a promise to David and his men, but what was interesting about God’s statement??
God laid out the scenario but God called on David to make a decision!
And so David made a decision not to kill Saul, but what was David’s intent in cutting a piece of Saul’s robe??
v5: David was conscience-stricken for cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe; which indicates David’s intent was to make a fool out of Saul! David still had pride problems, didn’t he? But let us note that David immediately confessed his sin!
v6-7: David made a commitment to obey God instead of selfish gains and challenged his men to do the same!
v8-15: David came out of the cave and confronted Saul! There is so much we can say about David in this passage. What words describe David in these verses??
- brave
- humble
- confronting of sin
- obedient to God
- truthful
- trustful of God
And let us add v22 to this list for David; what can we say about David in v22??
– committed to doing right! (v22)
Now, let us note the “good” things that Saul did in v16-20:
- called David son and he wept aloud
- stated that David is a better man than he
- professed that he treated David badly
- asked God’s blessings on David and affirmed godly future
That all sounded good from Saul didn’t it and he could have been telling the truth; but I am skeptical because of at least 3 things. What 3 things do you think can make one skeptical about what Saul did?
1. Saul immediately asked a favor from David!
2. Saul’s life have been full of lies!
3. We will read in the future about Saul’s continued attempts to kill David!
What Biblical Principles can we apply to our lives from this passage?
1. David shared God’s Word and his men considered it as a guide for life; what about us?.
2. There are no such thing as coincidences, God orchestrates situations and calls us to respond in a godly manner, even when no one is watching!
3. Like David, as soon as possible, own up to our sins and confess them.
4. Watch out for lies of people and follow David’s example of dealing with them.
