1 Samuel 24
1 Samuel 24
Shawn Bumpers / General
1 Samuel / 1 Samuel 24:1–22
Introduction
In the previous chapter, while Saul was distracted by his hunting of David, David was defending Keilah from a Philistine onslaught.
David successfully defended the city, but the people were fearful of Saul.
We found David next in the Wilderness of Ziph in the region of his homeland, Judah.
One might think that David would find loyalty and safety in Judah.
Psalm 18:2 NKJV
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
David then went on to En Gedi, whose name means Spring of a Goat.
It’s located on the western shore of the Dead Sea just about half way between Qumran and Masada.
In our chapter for tonight, David does a remarkable thing.
If Saul had the opportunity, he would have killed David without a second thought.
Proverbs 16:32 NKJV
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
We’ll see in verse 9 that Saul’s men had been lying to Saul about David … encouraging Saul in his craziness … perhaps seeking personal gain as was the case with the Edomite in chapter 22.
Psalm 7:14 NKJV
Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
1 Samuel 22:7 NKJV
then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?
They were being rewarded by Saul for their service in hunting down David and every lie they spoke about David was to gain something for themselves.
Psalm 54:1 NKJV
Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength.
He had been anointed king of Israel by the LORD and David would not raise a hand against the LORD’s anointed.
v1-4
Who told Saul where David was?
We don’t know.
In verse 3, “attend to his needs” means he needed to go potty.
The Law of Moses was very strict when it came to matters of sanitation, even in the camp of the army.
The fact that he walked right into David’s hiding place demonstrated that the Lord was in control.
But I also believe it meant that God was still testing David and wanted Saul to see what a man after God’s heart looked like.
Looking at verse 4, As David and his men hid in the back of the cave, under the din of the sheep outside, they quietly discussed what to do.
The men argued that Saul’s presence in the cave was the fulfillment of a promise God gave David that He would deliver Saul into his hands.
1 Samuel 15:26–29 NKJV
But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
1 Samuel 20:15 NKJV
but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
Philippians 4:13 NKJV
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
And then using that verse to say it’s okay to divorce your wife … “God will strengthen you through the difficulties of divorce.”
Most people when we quote that verse we don’t consider that the context of the verse is contentment.
But it’s really easy to pull that verse out of context and apply it to all kinds of situations that can’t be God’s will because it’s counter to scripture.
But David had not planned to kill Saul.
1 Samuel 26:10–11 NKJV
David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.”
But to David’s men, it seemed providential that Saul was at their mercy.
1 Samuel 24:10 NKJV
Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
1 Samuel 24:18 NKJV
And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.
But that wasn’t the issue.
The real issue was, “How does the Lord want us to use this occasion?”
Matthew 26:53 NKJV
Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
David knew that God’s promise was, “You will inherit the throne of Israel.”
And he knew that Saul stood in the way of that promise.
David wanted the promise to be fulfilled, but he refused to try and fulfill God’s promise through his own disobedience.
Romans 12:21 NKJV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
v5-7
David may not have had the full text of God’s Word as we have it today, but he knew God’s Law said, “You shall not murder.”
Exodus 20:13 NKJV
“You shall not murder.
So, he was able to discern that this was not a signal for him to kill Saul.
David reminded his men that Saul was the anointed of the Lord, and that no Jew had the right to attack him.
It’s interesting that the Hebrew word for “anointed” is Mashiach, which in Greek would be Christos, the same word that means Messiah.
Priests, Prophets, and Kings were anointed with oil to designate God’s hand on them.
Jesus, fulfills all 3 roles … He is the Deliverer … He is the Messiah.
David was so committed to honoring God’s anointed, even though Saul was seeking to kill him, that his conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
God had commanded in Numbers and Deuteronomy that the children of Israel were to wear tassels in the corners of their garments.
• First, it humiliated Saul, but it was also a symbolic gesture not unlike what Saul did to Samuel’s robe after the Amalekite fiasco (1 Sam. 15:27–28).
• AND, the piece of cloth was proof that David did not want to kill Saul and that those who told Saul David did want to kill him were all liars.
v8-15
I think we can assume that David waited until Saul was far enough from the cave that he could call to him and be safe.
By using the title “My lord the king” (Adon ani ha Melek) and bowing to the earth, David emphasized what he had said to his men earlier.
We see those concepts illustrated in the Old Testament and spelled out in the New Testament in such places as Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2.
Using the piece of Saul’s robe as evidence that he was not out to kill Saul, David also exposed the deception of Saul’s men who kept telling him that David wanted to kill him.
And this was one of those situations where the logic couldn’t be denied: David had an opportunity to kill Saul but he would not do it.
David was not guilty of any evil against Saul or any transgression against the Lord, but Saul was guilty of trying to kill David.
David also quoted a familiar proverb to prove his point: “Wickedness proceeds from the wicked” (24:13, nkjv).
But what was the king really doing as he pursued David?
He is acting foolishly as if David were the one pulling the strings … when it’s God who is in control!
We get a sure look into the mental state of Saul by his uncertainty of who was calling out to him.
He had certainly spoken long enough for Saul to discern that it was him, but Saul acts as if he’s not sure who it is.
David knew God’s calling and believed God’s promise.
His heart was right with God, and so he was able to be so bold before Saul and his army.
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