1 Samuel 26:1-4 Now the men from Ziph came back to Saul at Gibeah to tell him that David had returned to the wilderness and was hiding on Hachilah Hill. So Saul took his elite corps of three thousand troops and went to hunt him down. Saul camped along the road at the edge of the wilderness where David was hiding, but David knew of Saul’s arrival and sent out spies to watch his movements.
You’ve got to hand it to the men of Ziph; they’re consistent. When these guys start out as traitors, they remain treacherous. Never mind that David and his men have probably been protecting Ziph, these guys are still drooling at the possibility of gaining goodies from King Saul. So they run up to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown to inform Saul that David is back in their neighborhood. But once more, things aren’t going to work quite the way these men think.
5-7 David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. King Saul and General Abner were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering soldiers.
“Any volunteers to go down there with me?” David asked Ahimelech (the Hittite) and Abishai (Joab’s brother and the son of Zeruiah).
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. So David and Abishai went to Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear in the ground beside his head.
8 “God has put your enemy within your power this time for sure,” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me go and put that spear through him. I’ll pin him to the earth with it—I’ll not need to strike a second time!”
9-11 “No,” David said. “Don’t kill him, for who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s chosen king? Surely God will strike him down some day, or he will die in battle or of old age. But God forbid that I should kill the man he has chosen to be king! But I’ll tell you what—we’ll take his spear and his jug of water and then get out of here!”
What a temptation! David and Abishai both know that if Saul dies, the persecution of David will cease immediately. Those special troops Saul has been dragging all over the country would far rather have David as commander than Saul, for Saul is becoming crazier by the day. When Saul and his spies aren’t around, you can hear one man muttering things under his breath. “Why are we chasing David through the wilderness rather than protecting Israel from the Philistines and other marauding tribes? When David was leading us, things were done sensibly. Now we never know what Saul will think of next. Worse, Saul loses his temper over nothing. Being around Saul is dangerous. I wish we could just go home and leave David alone!”
“Hush!” says this man’s friend. “Abner is passing, and he’s Saul’s general. If Saul learns of your complaints, you may never live to reach your home! Remember, Saul has already tried to spear David and his own son Jonathan.”
12-13 So David took the spear and jug of water, and they got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put them sound asleep. They climbed the mountain slope opposite the camp until they were at a safe distance.
14 Then David shouted down to Abner and Saul, “Wake up, Abner!”
“Who is it?” Abner demanded.
15-16 “Well, Abner, you’re a great fellow, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as wonderful? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you ought to die for your carelessness. Where is the king’s spear and the jug of water that was beside his head? Look and see!”
Once more, David is proving that he has had Saul in his grasp and has spared Saul’s life. Once more, Saul is forced to confess that David is more virtuous than he.
17-20 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that you, my son David?”
And David replied, “Yes, sir, it is. Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my peace offering. But if this is simply the scheme of a man, then may he be cursed by God. For you have driven me out of my home so that I can’t be with the Lord’s people, and you have sent me away to worship heathen gods. Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of Jehovah? Why should the king of Israel come out to hunt my life like a partridge on the mountains?”
21-25 Then Saul confessed, “I have done wrong. Come back home, my son, and I’ll no longer try to harm you; for you saved my life today. I have been a fool, and very, very wrong.”
“Here is your spear, sir,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power. Now may the Lord save my life, even as I have saved yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”
And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You shall do heroic deeds and be a great conqueror.”
Then David went away and Saul returned home.
“Come back home, my son?” Are you kidding? No matter how many promises Saul makes, David isn’t about to trust Saul again. While Saul might be begging David to come home right now, in a few minutes Saul might be trying to spear David again. David simply returns Saul’s spear and water jug and returns to the wilderness.
The most amazing part of this story is David’s refusal to take vengeance on Saul. “No,” David said. “Don’t kill him, for who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s chosen king? Surely God will strike him down some day, or he will die in battle or of old age. But God forbid that I should kill the man he has chosen to be king!”
David respects the anointing God has placed on Saul and refuses to violate it out of respect for God. Besides, God has placed the same anointing on David. If David violates Saul’s anointing, he is essentially violating his own anointing as well, and David loves and respects God. David also trusts God to handle Saul and to do it in such a fashion that David will not have Saul’s blood on his hands.
How do we respond when a superior turns vicious and vindictive? Look at David’s response: first, David doesn’t stay to be abused or killed. David removes himself from the situation. Second, David trusts God to handle things. Only God knows the human heart and only God can truly deal with people. Even though David is quite young, he has seen enough to realize that God is able to bring perfect solutions to thorny problems while he cannot. Proverbs 20:22 says, “Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.”
When God has called us to a task, our job is to be faithful and to leave the results to Him. We can also safely leave our reputations with God, for He has said in Psalm 75:4-10 I warned the proud to cease their arrogance! I told the wicked to lower their insolent gaze and to stop being stubborn and proud. For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God. He promotes one and deposes another. In Jehovah’s hand there is a cup of pale and sparkling wine. It is his judgment, poured out upon the wicked of the earth. They must drain that cup to the dregs.
But as for me, I shall forever declare the praises of the God of Jacob. “I will cut off the strength of evil men,” says the Lord, “and increase the power of good men in their place.”
God also assures us in Revelation 3:8 I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Here in Ghana, there is a Gospel song that says, “When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no!” If God has called you to do something, rest assured, He will help you complete that task. Truly, “When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no!”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and praying for us. Lord, help us to trust You to bring Your perfect Will to pass in our lives. Help us to trust You to handle those who persecute us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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