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I Samuel 24:1-22
David Spares Saul’s Life
1After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.
14 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
David is the most revered figure in the history of the Jewish people. But his life was marked by some of the most tragic sins and errors imaginable. When he was at his best, David represented what it means to be a godly man. But when he was at his worst, he brought suffering and destruction to those around him and to himself.
Which makes him a thought-provoking figure for those of us who are practicing our faith 3000 years after David walked the earth. Heroic good guys are great in the movies, but they can seem so superior to the rest of us there’s not much for us to learn from them. Really evil bad guys, on the other hand, seem so terrible that we can’t help congratulating ourselves that we’re not as bad as they are. But since David was not always good, but not always bad, he seems a little more relatable to us than some of the figures in the Bible. That’s why his life and career provide us with so much to think about.
David’s first great adventure, of course, was his victory over the Philistine giant Goliath, a victory that saved the Israelite army. David became a great national hero as a result, but his fame became threatening to king Saul. At one point in a national victory parade, women were singing, “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands.” Then as now, kings didn’t like being upstaged. And Saul, who was becoming more and more psychologically unstable, tried on several occasions to murder David. Saul’s animosity resulted in a kind of civil war between his forces and the followers of David. That war never led to a victory by one side, but eventually Saul and his son were killed in battle against the Philistines and David became king.
Once he assumed the throne, David led the nation to its golden age. He conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital and the center of the life of the covenant people. In addition to his military and political success, David seems to have been widely admired by the people of the nation – apparently, especially by the women. He is also considered the greatest religious poet in the history of his people – tradition says that he wrote a third of all the psalms.
But as we noted, David is also the perpetrator of the most disastrous series of sins by a single individual in the whole Old Testament. He committed adultery with the wife of one of his military officers, then used the power of the throne God had given him to cover up his adultery by murdering the officer. And as a result of his sins, the child born of his adultery dies, his family falls into chaos. One of his sons rapes a half-sister, and is then murdered by her full brother. Two of his sons lead military rebellions against him with brutal and gruesome outcomes. As the prophet Nathan foretold when confronting David over his sins, the sword would never again leave his household.
But in spite of his sins, David retains a special place in God’s heart, and God establishes a special covenant with his house. When you stop and think about it, that seems strange, given David’s checkered history. But it seems to me that there are two things about David that shed some light on why he remained in that favored position in God’s eyes.
First of all, the Bible tells us that David would regularly seek God’s guidance before making major decisions about what to do and how to exercise leadership among God’s people. It’s really striking how many times David is portrayed as praying and seeking the advice of spiritual advisors before he took action. And unlike many leaders throughout history, David would actually listen to what those spiritual advisers said, even when they criticized him to his face.
The second thing that’s noticeable in David’s career is that most of the time, he held himself to a surprising level of discipline — even sacrificing his own interests for the sake of the mission he had been given by God.
Today’s reading is a story that demonstrates that kind of discipline on David’s part. It comes from a time when David is on the run with his band of followers. In the story, Saul is entirely at the mercy of David in a cave, but David refuses to take advantage of his advantage to kill Saul. He cuts a small piece from Saul’s robe to demonstrate that the king is in his power, but David even expressed his remorse without cutting that piece from Saul’s robe.
Even though David had already been anointed by God as the next king of his people, he would not raise his hand against the reigning king. That’s because David knew that Saul had also been anointed by God, so he would not raise a hand against someone who had received that anointing. David would run away from Saul, he would fight battles against Saul’s troops, but he would not lift a hand against Saul himself.
In Psalm 15, which is one of the psalms we understand David to have written, the question is asked of God, “Who may dwell in your sanctuary?” And the answer that comes back includes ‘the one who keeps their oath, even when it hurts.’
This passage seems to me to represent a case where David demonstrated that degree of obedience to what he understood as the will of God – a willingness to be obedient, even when that obedience went against David’s own interests.
And that, it seems to me, is why David has been such a revered figure in the history of God’s people, and why – in spite of his sins – he retained his special place near to God’s heart. And why God chose to be born in human form into the household of David.
Let’s pray. Lord, help us to have the same commitment to obeying your way that characterized David in his best times. And when we stray from your way, guard us against the kind of monstrous sins by which David ruined the lives of others. And when we do sin, help us to have David’s willingness to confess and repent, so that we might also come closer and closer to your own heart. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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