1 Samuel 24

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.

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 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? Whom 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. 21Now 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.

Points of Interest

• ‘This is the day the LORD spoke of’--it’s unclear to what exactly his men are referring. Maybe it’s a previously unrecorded prophecy; there do also seem to be promises of this sort sprinkled throughout David’s psalms, for example, Psalm 110:1:

The LORD says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.”

The closest thing we have in our story is David’s words to Goliath: ‘This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head’ (17:46) It’s startling to note that David’s men are speaking of the Israelite king in exactly the same language as David spoke of their Philistine oppressor.

• ‘cut off a corner of Saul’s robe’--I may be wrong, but I don’t get the impression that David’s original intention was to take a corner of Saul’s robe. I imagine David swinging for Saul’s head, and changing the arc of his sword stroke mid-swing. Saul is right there in front of him, and he can’t get himself to take advantage of the situation.
• ‘David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe’--David doesn’t seem to have much to feel guilty about. Damaging Saul’s clothing is a fairly minor offense, in light of the fact that Saul has thrown several spears at him and chased him around the country with an army. I think David could fairly claim self-defense if he were to go so far as killing Saul. I can perhaps see where David is coming from, though. He defeated Goliath in a formal duel, in the ring. If he were to kill Saul here, it would be from behind, in hiding, catching Saul literally with his pants down. That’s not exactly a victory to be proud of. In fact, given Saul’s vulnerable position, as it were, David is embarrassed even to have taken that bit of cloth.
• ‘he is the anointed of the LORD’--killing a king is no small thing. And becoming a king by killing the previous one sets a dangerous precedent. David doesn’t want to steal the kingship for himself, and he doesn’t want to invite people to take matters into their own hands when he’s king. Thus, he decides that since God made Saul king, it’s God’s job, not his, to unmake him.
• ‘See, my father’--David holds off from killing Saul out of a concern for his own honor, and out of respect for God and for the kingship. Beyond that, he simply doesn’t want to kill Saul. He loves Saul. Saul may consider David an enemy, but David does not consider Saul one.
• ‘look at this piece of your robe’--David may feel a little guilty about cutting the corner of robe, but it proves to be a useful bit of theater. David convincingly demonstrates in front of both armies that Saul’s accusations are unfounded: David is not a traitor. At the same time, David shows his power: if he wanted to do Saul harm, he could. Saul comes out of this exchange looking smaller in two ways.
• ‘A dead dog? A flea?’--while he is swearing to his loyalty and promising not to do Saul any damage, David is also tired of being pushed around. He wants Saul to know that he’s not running away because he’s afraid. He’s not as easy to kick as a dead dog. He can’t be swatted like a fly. He’s running away because he’s trying very hard not to hurt Saul.
• ‘he wept aloud’--whether he’s weeping from fear, sorrow, shock, or regret is hard to tell.
• ‘May the LORD reward you well’--Saul seems to genuinely recognize what a close brush with death he’s had. He’s grateful to be alive, and not just generally so; he’s grateful to David for not taking his life.
• ‘David and his men went up to the stronghold’--despite Saul’s effusive gratitude and striking confession of David’s innocence, nobody is under the illusion that everything will be alright now. Saul withdraws for the time being. But it’s not as if he welcomes David back to court; nor does David seem to want or expect it. He goes right back to his hideout.

Taking it home

• For you: David seems like he very well could have been justified in killing Saul at the first chance he got. David more than anyone has legitimate reasons to be angry at and bitter toward Saul. Yet the picture we see is one of humility and respect instead. It doesn't seem like David has been stewing in bitterness while he has been fleeing from Saul. Instead he has given God the job of getting even and being the judge. Where have you been tempted toward bitterness lately? Are there situations in which you feel particularly cynical or jaded? Take some time today to talk to God about those things. Ask him to give you a spirit like David’s which was quick to show forgiveness and love.
• For your six: One thing that is so sad about the story of David and Saul is that they used to be such great partners, now only to be the worst of enemies. Ask God to intervene in any relationships in which your six are experiencing distance or hostility. Pray that your six would see God’s power and love through his ability to reconcile their relationships.
• For our church: Ask God to make our church a place where we treat people well, even if they treat us badly. Ask God to fill us with enough love, patience and understanding to do this.
• For families: Talk about a time when someone treated you badly. We might want to treat the person the same way they treated us; we might dislike them, or even feel hatred toward them. However, God seems to ask us to respond differently. He asks us to forgive people when they do us harm. Forgiveness acknowledges the pain that was caused, but gives the power back to God to make things right again. God seems to promise that if--with God’s help--we can respond in forgiveness, our lives will actually go better. Is there a situation right now in which any of your family members could ask God to help them respond in forgiveness? Pray that God would help them do this.