A Series of Choices

We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 24. We need to do a little math right off the bat.

Remember where we left David and how many people he had with him:

1 Samuel 23:13 (NIV)

13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place.

We pick up now in 1 Samuel 24 and we find good, ol’ paranoid Saul:

1 Samuel 24:1–2 NIV

1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

Okay, now for the math. David has 600 men. Saul has 3,000. Saul has 5 times the number of men David does. That shows Saul’s paranoia, even his fear of David. He and a crazy ridiculous number of men go hunt down David.

Verse 3 is one of those awkward or humorous verses (depending on who you are):

1 Samuel 24:3 NIV

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.

Well, here they are. Saul and David are thrown together. They’re in the same cave! Something’s going to happen.

It’s just a pit stop for Saul. How strange it is to have this detail, but this (like other details in the Bible) show how true the Bible is. Why put that detail there if it didn’t happen?

Saul’s using the cave toilet, and David and his men are gathered in the back of the same cave. Awkward.

Now, it’s probably a very large cave, but still. This is a little uncomfortable.

1 Samuel 24:4 NIV

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.

The significance of this is that Saul is here in this cave without any of his men. Men don’t typically go to the bathroom in groups.

So, instead of it being 3,000 to 600, it’s Saul alone up against 600 men and David. And Saul’s vulnerable.

David’s men are opportunists. They want David to be rid of Saul; they even invoke God’s name. “This is the Lord giving Saul into your hands!”

“This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made, go on and kill him, go on and kill him...”

How can David not get what God is up to? David’s men just know this is the Lord’s doing.

David has the opportunity to kill Saul. If not now, when? This is the perfect shot.

Instead, David crawls up to where Saul is and cuts a corner off Saul’s robe.

In 1 Samuel 15, the tearing of a robe signified Saul forfeiting the kingdom:

1 Samuel 15:27–28 NIV

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.

So here, David cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe may have been a declaration of revolt.

David’s a little sneaky. His men are, no doubt, cheering him on, yet probably wanting David to do far more than cut Saul’s robe; they want David to cut Saul’s throat.

This action—David’s action—however starts to bother David.

1 Samuel 24:5 NIV

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.

Literally, conscience-stricken is “heart-struck”—David’s heart struck him.

Why? Well, David is a man of conscience. And, no matter what Saul has done, no matter how many times Saul has chucked a spear at Saul, no matter how Saul has treated David, in David’s eyes, Saul still retains the status of king/the Lord’s anointed.

1 Samuel 24:6–7 NIV

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.

Saul, as king, has been set apart to the Lord. There’s a special bond there, between the Lord’s anointed and the Lord.

“Hence,” says Groningen, “to touch, defile, and attack the anointed one was to approach the Lord Himself and seek to defile, harm, and remove the Lord from His rightful place.”

David’s sharp rebuke to his men is stronger than our translations. Literally, David tore apart his men with words.

Or, as it might be said today: “David ripped his men a new one.”

David was deadly serious, and had to threaten his men not to do anything to Saul.

David had the opportunity to kill Saul. Instead, David spares Saul. David saves Saul.

But was this the Lord giving Saul into David’s hands as David’s men suspected? Apparently not.

Hadn’t the kingdom been promised to David, at least a few times? Wasn’t this the chance for David to assume the throne? Saul dies on the toilet (like another “king”), and David becomes the new king—that’s a story we could tell.

It is the Lord’s will for David to become king, but the Lord’s will must be achieved in the Lord’s way.

David’s men don’t care so much about this. They’re opportunists and pragmatists.

“They claim to have God in their pocket and to know how he relates to the specific situation.” - Fokkelman

You can almost hear David’s men: “Now’s your time, man! Don’t you want to be king? Don’t you want all of this for yourself?!”

It’d be tempting, no doubt.

Jesus, the descendant of David, faced the same temptation:

Matthew 4:8–9 NIV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

“What the devil offered Jesus was the will of God for Jesus’ life; Jesus absolutely knew that God had planned for and promised to Jesus all the kingdoms and their splendor. But God’s will must come to pass in God’s way—not through a scheme of the devil, but through the humiliation of the cross.” - DRD

The temptation to seize the kingdom by killing Saul in that moment was strong, I’m sure. But David refuses. He won’t do it. And he won’t let his men attack Saul.

Saul left the cave and went his way.

1 Samuel 24:8–15 NIV

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 lord, 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. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am 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.”

This seems crazy. Saul’s left the cave (without washing his hands, it seems). And, in a bold move, David follows him and calls out to him.

“My lord, the king!”

David speaks respectfully and shows honor to the king. Honor where honor is due, even though it’s hard to see how Saul is worthy of any honor. David bows with his face to the ground and launches into a speech.

David argues his case. He’s innocent—he knows it and Saul knows it.

David rehearses everything that just went down, including the chance he had to kill Saul and his decision to spare Saul and not kill him. David even reaches into his pocket, grabs the piece of fabric, and says, “Look at this piece of your robe in my hand!”

In all of this David does what is very, very difficult. He decides to:

Trust the Lord to Work Justice

Verse 12: “May the Lord judge between you and me.”

David believes Saul should be punished (let’s get that straight); but he’s simply unwilling to do the punishing or to work justice for himself. David trusts the Lord to judge.

David says, “My hand will not touch you.” What a response. What restraint. More than anything, this shows David’s trust in the Lord God Almighty.

If there’s a wrong to be righted, let the Righteous One handle it.

This is our certain hope: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. There will be justice one day. All wrongs will be made right. “Everything sad will come untrue.”

David shares a little proverb with Saul (verse 13):

1 Samuel 24:13 NIV

13 As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.

In other words, if David was as wicked as Saul thought David to be, or as wicked as Saul was, he would have taken justice into his own hands and would have been done with Saul in that cave/port-a-potty.

Saul is wickedly seeking David’s life. Saul’s evil plan springs from the fact that he is an evildoer. Saul—the King of Israel—is hunting down a single flea, lowly little David.

David recaps his argument (what he said in verse 12) again in verse 15:

1 Samuel 24:15 (NIV)

15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between us…

God’s people can learn a little something from David. David has confidence in the Lord’s justice. Even better, David has confidence in the Lord who will work a better justice for him.

The case is in the Lord’s hands; He will prosecute it and decide it. David will wait for God to judge.

And judge He will (which rubs some people—some of you, maybe—the wrong way).

“If [God] is just love and not judge, which is no love at all really, then we can rebel without accountability. This is the pseudo-freedom that sinners prefer. Life on their terms.”

- Jackie Hill Perry

If David didn’t trust that God was judge, he could have and would have taken matters into his own hands. If there was no ultimate judge, David could rightly do whatever he wanted to.

“I’m gonna skip the impromptu hemming of Saul’s robe, and just be done with him here and now.”

This is the problem with much popular thought throughout the ages. God’s justice takes too long, or it’s not what I would do, or I don’t like His brand of justice, so I’ma do it myself.”

We must trust. Trust. Trust, that is surrender our minds and mouths and hearts and desires and make them subordinate to God’s will. Trust. Let God do what God does.

And

Leave Vengeance to the Lord

Understand, where Saul is concerned, there will be vengeance, but the Lord will bring it. David will take no action against Saul.

David is going to leave to the Lord what is the Lord’s purview.

Somehow, David obeyed Romans 12 before Paul wrote it—long before!

Romans 12:19 NIV

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Of course, Paul was just repackaging an important OT principle:

Deuteronomy 32:35–36 NIV

35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” 36 The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.

Leviticus 19:18 NIV

18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

1 Samuel 24:12: May the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me—this is what David says to Saul.

Far weightier than David taking vengeance on Saul is the Lord avenging the wrongs done to His people.

But, you see, the Holy Lord gets to avenge. Vengeance is not ours. Any time we take revenge or seek to avenge ourselves, we’re overstepping. We’re robbing the Lord, desiring to place ourselves on God’s throne.

Judgment and vengeance are His. Repeat that to yourselves. Judgment and vengeance are His.

Maybe you heard about the fellow who was told by his doctor, “Well, sir. We got the lab work back. You do indeed have rabies.”

Upon hearing this, the patient immediately pulled out some paper and a pencil and began to write.

Thinking the man was working on his will, the doctor said, “Listen, having rabies doesn’t mean you’re going to die. You don’t need to update your will; there’s a cure for rabies.”

“I know that,” said the man. “I’m making a list of people I’m gonna bite.”

I think Friedrich Nietzsche was correct when he wrote: “Revenge is the greatest instinct in the human race.”

David fights against the natural instinct of revenge; he leaves vengeance to the Lord.

In his book, A Tale of Three Kings, Gene Edwards imagines David’s response to his men who want David to take revenge:

“Better he kill me than I learn his ways. Better he kill me than I become as he is. I shall not practice the ways that cause kings to go mad. I will not throw spears, nor will I allow hatred to grow in my heart. I will not avenge. I will not destroy the Lord’s anointed. Not now. Not ever.”

David leaves vengeance to the Lord and trusts the Lord with it. Wow-y.

This is difficult to do, yes. But this action is not weak or cowardly. We don’t retaliate or seek revenge, but we still ask the Lord to bring judgment and to set things right.

Which is more effective? Me taking revenge or the Lord? Which is a more severe blow? Which is more serious? The Lord avenging, by far!

Leave vengeance to the Lord and you’ll realize how much better it is than taking revenge yourself.

1 Samuel 24:16–22 NIV

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 kill 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.

Saul hasn’t been able to get a word in edge-wise. But now, Saul gets to speak. If you can imagine yourself in Saul’s position, you’d get why Saul wept aloud.

Mercy tends to move a person. Goodness has an impact. We can’t really tell it in our English translations, but Saul uses the term for good/goodness four times.

David has shown Saul indisputable goodness (and will continue to show Saul goodness, long after Saul is gone).

“You are more righteous than I”… uh, ya think?!? No kidding.

David certainly is more righteous (at least at this point in his life). In their relationship, David is better than Saul and that by a mile.

A far better choice than taking revenge is to

Model the Mercy and Goodness of God

What David does here for Saul, even Saul has to admit, is a stunning display of mercy--”You’ve treated me well [done good to me], but I’ve treated you badly.

David shows mercy to Saul.

David’s mercy toward Saul prefigures the mercy of Jesus toward sinners, even toward those who have opposed him.

This was the apostle Paul’s testimony of Christ’s mercy toward him:

1 Timothy 1:13–16 NIV

13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

What does Saul deserve? Way worse than he gets. But that’s the thing about mercy: it’s not mercy if it’s deserved.

Jesus taught His disciples about mercy in those verses most of us despise:

Matthew 5:38–42 NIV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The way the people of God should behave is to be markedly different than the way the world behaves.

If someone wrongs us, we don’t wrong them back.

If someone sucker-punches us, we don’t throw fists in return.

If someone persecutes us, we consider it a blessing for Christ’s sake.

We model, not the ways of this world, but the ways of Christ—goodness and mercy.

God’s mercy is to be the model for his people. Jesus tells His disciples (Luke 6:36): “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

David is good to Saul, for no rational reason (humanly speaking).

David shows mercy to Saul, for no other reason than David trusts the Lord to judge and avenge.

>Life is a series of choices:

To get justice for ourselves, or to trust the Lord to work justice.

To take revenge, or to leave vengeance to the Lord.

To model the ways of this world, or to model the goodness and mercy of the Lord.

It’s a battle. No one knows that better than David.

These are tough choices, but what choices are honoring to the Lord?

What’s going to show that we belong to Him?

We show we belong to Him when we trust Him to take care of us (justice and all).

We show we belong to Him when we believe He will do what He says He will (namely, that He will avenge).

We show we belong to Him when we turn from the worldly ways of behaving and follow hard after Christ.

Hebrews 12:2–3 NIV

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.