Lesson 12 - 1 Sam. 26:7-12, 21-25 - UNDESERVED RESPECT
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 1 Sam. 25:14-17, 32-38, we covered the story of David, Nabal, and Nabal's wife, Abigail. As it began, we found David, still in hiding from Saul, encamped with his men in and area of the En-gedi Wilderness controlled by a wealthy man named Nabal. While there, David's men had treated Nabal's shepherds with respect, taken nothing from them, and even protected them and their flocks from marauding bandits. When David sent a polite request to Nabal, asking him to provide some lambs as food for men, Nabal not only refused but insulted him as a rebel and a renegade. Infuriated by the insult, David vowed to kill Nabal and every male member of his household. When the Nabal's shepherds learned of this, they ran to Abigail, explained what Nabal had done, and implored her to intercede before this disaster struck. In response, Abigail ran home to prepare a huge feast for David and his men, then hurried out to David's camp, where she threw herself at his feet and in the name of the LORD, begged him to spare her husband (a fool) and her men. In the face of this, David's fury evaporated, and he told to her go in peace. Later still, Nabal dropped dead of apoplexy and David married Abigail. The point of this story is that a man reaps what he sows: Nabal sowed to foolishness and endangered his entire household; David sowed to anger and almost committed mass murder; and godly Abigail sowed to the Spirit and brought peace.
This week in 1 Sam. 26:1-12, 21-25, we find David, still in hiding from Saul's efforts to erase him as a threat to his rule, when he's suddenly confronted with an unplanned moral and spiritual dilemma: While coming up on Saul's encampment in the middle of the night, they were able to sneak all the way into the middle of the camp, where they found Saul and his captain, Abner, sound asleep. David was presented (for the second time [see, 1 Sam. 24:4-7) with the opportunity to kill Saul and solve the succession problem. This presents David with a dilemma: What is the right thing to do?
Read 1 Sam. 26:7-8 - SAUL LAY SLEEPING INSIDE THE CIRCLE
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has handed your enemy over to you; now then, please let me pin him with the spear to the ground with one thrust, and I will not do it to him a second time."
v. 7: "So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him." - Verses 1-6 reveal that Saul had received a report that David and his men were hiding in the wilderness of Ziph (SW Judah) and assembled an expedition of 3,000 to search him out. However, David's spies, saw it coming and warned him in advance. Then David, taking his sister's son Abishai with him, crept into Saul's camp that night completely unnoticed and found them all sound asleep. Saul's spear, the symbol of authority he'd used to attack David on three occasions, was stuck into the ground next to the sleeping king's head.
v. 8a: "Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has handed your enemy over to you;" - Abishai's advice, that "God had handed your enemy over to you" was almost the same words one of his men had used on a previous occasion when, Saul, to relive himself, had unknowingly walked into cave where David and some of his men were hidden from view (1 Sam. 24:4). David had held back.
v. 8b: "now then, please let me pin him with the spear to the ground with one thrust, and I will not do it to him a second time." - Abishai believes this is a God-given opportunity, too good to pass up, and he's even willing to do the deed himself with Saul's own spear. And He guarantees David that a second thrust won't be needed. Question: Is God offering David a quick solution or a temptation?
Read 1 Sam. 26:9-12 - DO NOT KILL HIM
9 But David said to Abishai, "Do not kill him, for who can reach out with his hand against the LORD'S anointed and remain innocent?" 10 David also said, "As the LORD lives, the LORD certainly will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I would reach out with my hand against the LORD'S anointed! But now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let's go." 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water that were at Saul's head, and they left; and no one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone awaken, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
v. 9a: "But David said to Abishai, "Do not kill him," - Seeing the Saul lying there, completely at his mercy, David's inner-voice immediately tells him to order Abishai not to kill the sleeping king.
v. 9b: "for who can reach out with his hand against the LORD'S anointed and remain innocent?" - this is the challenge his inner-voice had given him: Because God had previously anointed this man as king, it was not David's place to terminate his life; morally, Saul's life wasn't his to take. David had sinned before and would sin again, but on this moral issue, he was convicted to "remain innocent." David grasped the enduring truth that vengeance belonged to God, not him, and that in any event, we are never justified in repaying evil with evil. (Rom. 12:17-21).
v. 10: "David also said, "As the LORD lives, the LORD certainly will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. " - Here, David declares that he will let the LORD deal with Saul according to His plans and timing, whether the king dies from some unspecified cause or is killed in battle. In either event, David was firmly confident the LORD had it under control. This offers us a great picture to of patiently waiting on the LORD rather seeking a 'quick fix.' Wisdom.
v. 11: "The LORD forbid that I would reach out with my hand against the LORD'S anointed! But now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let's go." - While David is certain that God did not intend him to take Saul's life on this occasion, he cannot help but notice the very deep level of sleep that obviously had been imposed on Saul and his followers. And it occurs to him that God has just given him a golden opportunity to use it to teach the king a powerful lesson.
v. 12: So David took the spear and the jug of water that were at Saul's head, and they left; and no one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone awaken, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them." - Taking the spear, the king's symbol of power (and death) would clearly show Saul that David had held the power of life and death over him, but had chosen to spare him. And, and taking the water jug, symbolized a life-giving vessel that was essential for survival in the Judean desert. When Saul woke up, he would surely discover that he had just escaped death within an inch of his life. And his blood would run cold when the realization fully hit him.
Read 1 Sam. 26:21-25 -
21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again since my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have made a very great mistake." 22 David replied, "Behold, the spear of the king! Now have one of the young men come over and take it. 23 And the LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD handed you over to me today, but I refused to reach out with my hand against the LORD'S anointed. 24 Therefore behold, just as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the LORD, and may He rescue me from all distress." 25 Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and assuredly prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Synopsis of vv. 13-20 (skipped): David and Abishai crossed a ravine to the next mountain to put some distance between them and Saul's men, and from there, David shouted a scathing rebuke to Abner, Saul's bodyguard, for his failure to guard the king when they had infiltrated the camp. Although David spared Saul's life, he said Abner deserved to die because of his failure to protect his king. Saul, recognizing David's voice and realizing his life has been spared, spoke kindly to David, calling him "his son" (v. 17). Verse 19 is complicated: David knows of no reason why God should be angry with him, but if for some reason God is behind Saul's efforts to hunt him down, David appeals for God to accept an offering to appease or atone for any conflict between David and God. David also appeals to Saul's conscience for causing David's to be excluded from fellowship with God's people, together with his inability to live in peace in God's land (Israel). When David refers to serving "other gods" he doesn't mean worshiping them, but being forced to live and work among the pagan people outside of Israel. In verse 20, describing himself as a "flea," David implies that Saul is making a fool of himself with his fanatical pursuit of an innocent man.
v. 21a: "Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again since my life was precious in your sight this day." - Before, when Saul apologized to David after the cave incident (1 Sam. 24:16-20), he seemed genuinely sorry and remorseful for what he'd done to David, but here there's something cold and mechanical about Saul's admission of sinning against him. The words are right, but the feeling isn't there-because his life hasn't really changed; it's just empty talk.
v. 21b: "Behold, I have played the fool and have made a very great mistake." - This could be the title of Saul's autobiography. Saul's admission of having been a "fool" seems to convey the idea of aggravation with himself rather than sorrow for his wickedness toward David. Again, empty words with no change in his character. At a basic level, Saul had been acting and ruling according to his own understanding ever since the Spirit had left him in 1 Sam. 16:14, thus, he was a fool.
v. 22: "David replied, "Behold, the spear of the king! Now have one of the young men come over and take it." - By returning Saul's spear, the symbol of his power as king, he was acknowledging Saul's right to rule. David was never a rebel-that was not his way.
v. 23a: "And the LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness;" - The main theme of the entire chapter is that "the LORD will repay." All of David's faith and trust to ultimately be 'repaid' in the future was on "the LORD," who blesses the righteous and the faithful. David was certain that God would repay both Saul and himself. David was determined to wait upon God's payment, whenever it should come, a complete contrast to Saul's 'do it right now' approach.
v. 23b: "for the LORD handed you over to me today, but I refused to reach out with my hand against the LORD'S anointed." - David knew that God, by handing Saul to him 'on a platter,' had subjected him to the supreme test of righteousness and faith. And David, by refusing to make the quickest and most obvious choice-to kill Saul-had passed the test. David would wait on God's timing.
v. 24: "Therefore behold, just as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the LORD, and may He rescue me from all distress." - David genuinely wanted to fulfill his calling to be the next king of Israel, yet, he wanted to attain both the throne and the blessing of God. He knew it was morally wrong to attempt to seize the throne through murder and rebellion. He would wait until it came to him according to God's manner and timing. The bottom line was David knew that if he wanted God support when he became king, he must support Saul now.
v. 25a: "Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and assuredly prevail." - This was the last conversation to be held between David and Saul, and Saul ends it with a prophetic revelation of David final success, which does happen.
v. 25b: "So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place." - Despite Saul's kind words of blessing, David was still not prepared to trust him, not one inch. He carefully moved away in order to put some distance between himself and Saul. Saul will ultimately meet his own end in 1 Sam. 31:1-4 without David's help.
APPLICATION-David's shining Example: Leaving Your Life up to God
David's example showed that when we completely trust God with our life, He will repay us in three important ways: (1) He will make things right; (2) He will protect you; and (3) He will reward you.
When we take matters into our own hands (like Saul), we show that we really don't trust God. We try to do God's job for Him. By doing this, we forfeit God's protection on our life and lose out on our rewards. We also prolong conflict in our life and miss opportunities to make peace with our enemies.
So, leaving your life up to God is a good general rule to live by. Leave it up to God. Trust Him. Trust Him with your salvation. Trust Him with your family. Trust Him with your work. Trust Him with your future. Start trusting Him TODAY! God can handle all your problems and does not need your help.
