David and Saul
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Sometimes We Have to Wait
Sometimes We Have to Wait
When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
At this point in David’s life, he had received a promise from God that he would eventually replace Saul as king over Israel
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
Saul’s growing jealously and animosity towards David was obvious, and he had tried unsuccessfully to kill David multiple times. David had good reason to kill Saul, if just in self-defense, and his companions tried to talk him into taking Saul’s life by interpreting the cave scenario to be a divine opportunity.
And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Yet David’s restraint came straight from his relationship with God and his conviction to wait on God to carry out His own judgments (vss. 6-7, 11-13). David decided to wait for God to fulfill His promise.
If We MUST Wait.......Wait on God
If We MUST Wait.......Wait on God
And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
In this video, a woman falls into a fountain because she is texting while walking: https://youtu.be/bGpVpsaItpU How many times have we done something clumsy while looking at our phone? If we’re not paying attention, we can fall off the track and get ourselves and/or others hurt. In that same way, if we don’t stop to seek God’s guidance, and allow ourselves to get lost in the moment, we can circumvent God’s plans and purposes in our lives.
It takes discernment, patience, and wisdom to know if we should act or wait when an opportunity presents itself. As this story portrays, well-meaning people may try to persuade us one way (vs. 4), but they won’t be held responsible for our decisions—we will. We must have a direct line to God for ourselves through prayer to know what He might instruct us to do.
Waiting on God does not mean passively doing nothing. David was actively seeking the Lord during this time. His intimate prayers from this trying season are recorded in the book of Psalms, giving us insight into what he was thinking and feeling. It was because of David’s pursuit of God’s presence that he was sustained to keep believing God’s promise that he would become Israel’s next king.
Psalm 59 is one song noted to have been written by David while he was being attacked by Saul.
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me;
deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
They wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
In verse 9, David prays,
O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
Watching denotes an active, wide-eyed waiting, even as a watchman waits for the morning.
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
David’s prayer life was a key component to his ability to wait for God to do His process.
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