DAY THIRTY-FOUR: 

David vs. Saul 

1 Samuel 23:7-24:22 

Saul's delight with his new champion has turned to envy and fear. The crowds are shouting "Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands." His oldest son, Jonathan, became David's best friend, and his daughter Michal married David. The people were going after David, and he couldn't even trust his own family. 1 Samuel 18:29 sums it up: "Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually." Saul tried to kill David in his palace and in his home. David finally had to flee into the wilderness with a few trusted men. Saul turned his army away from fighting the Philistines and led them in a search for David. At one point David went to the Philistine stronghold of Gath, Goliath's home town, for protection. Our passage today begins with David staying in the walled city of Keilah in the Negev (southern desert) of Judah. Saul thought that David was trapped and he went to catch him. The Lord revealed the danger to David and he left for the wilderness near the Dead Sea.

How did David feel about Saul? Was he angry and ready to avenge himself on his enemy? No. He had a golden opportunity to kill Saul when he came alone to go to the bathroom into the cave where David and his men were hiding. Saul was just a few feet away, totally unaware of David's presence. But instead of killing Saul, David just cut off a corner of his robe and crept back into hiding. But even this act hurt David's conscience. He said, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, theLord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed." (24:6) Saul finished his business and left the cave. After Saul and his men were almost out of earshot David called out from the cave entrance. He addressed Saul as "My lord the king." Then he held up the piece of Saul's robe. Saul looked down at the hem and saw that there was a chunk missing, the size and shape of what David was holding. David went on, "...some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, 'I will not put out my hand against my lord,for he is the Lord's anointed,'" and "May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you."

Now Saul's conscience is bothering him. He said, "You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil." Saul acknowledged that David would one day be king, and asked for mercy for his family when that day came. David, thinking of his best friend Jonathan, readily agreed. Saul withdrew, but David knew how unstable Saul was and remained in the wilderness.

This was not the end of Saul's efforts to kill David, and yet again David spared Saul's life when it was in his hand. David and his men crept into Saul's camp while everyone, including the sentries, were sleeping soundly. David's nephew Abishai offered to kill Saul where he lay, and to do it in a respectful way: "Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice." (26:8) David replied, "As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go." Once they reached the top of the hill David cried out. He spoke to Abner, Saul's general, rebuking him for not protecting his master. Saul recognized David's voice. He saw that his spear and water jug were gone, and that they were in David's hands. David left the spear and jug for one of Saul's men to retrieve. But before he left David said, "Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation." (26:24)

Saul continued to deteriorate spiritually and mentally. God wasn't answering his requests for guidance, and Samuel was dead. He was fearful before a battle with the Philistines, and sought out a medium (one who could call up dead spirits) so that he could speak with Samuel. Much to the medium's surprise, Samuel showed up (the real Samuel, not a mind trick or a demonic presence). Samuel told Saul that it was all over. Tomorrow he and his sons would die at the hands of the Philistines, and Israel's army would be routed. And indeed it was so. Saul died and the Philistines hung his body from the wall of Beth-Shan.

Saul was dead. Did David rejoice that he was now rid of his enemy? No. He led the nation in a time of mourning for Saul and his sons. "Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon...Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul...How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!" (2 Samuel 1:17-27 for the full song). What a eulogy! David mourned deeply over the man who tried to kill him.

This speaks volumes about David's character. Samuel told Saul, "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." (1 Samuel 13:14) David was a man after God's own heart! We saw his absolute trust in God when he took on Goliath with nothing but a sling. We see that trust again in how David dealt with Saul. Samuel poured oil over David's head and anointed him king in Saul's place. He was now king, not Saul. Yet he didn't push Saul out, and indeed when he had two good opportunities to kill him he declined to do so. He called Saul "the Lord's anointed," and he was. Samuel had poured oil on Saul's head, too. But that anointing of the Holy Spirit left Saul and fell upon David.

David was a poet and musician as well as a warrior. He wrote many of the Psalms, and in them we see his heart. None are more beautiful, in my opinion, than the Psalms he wrote in those years of fleeing from Saul:

"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies." (Psalm 18:1-3)

"This poor man cried, and theLord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them." (Psalm 34:6-7)

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4)

David trusted in God! That sounds like a simple statement, but the reality behind it is something we all struggle with. Do I trust God enough to charge at the giants in my path? Is my heart settled in the Lord, as David's was? May God grant to us to love and trust Him as David did!

Before we leave today's study I'd like to look again at how David treated Saul and what that means for our lives as a church family. He kept calling Saul "the Lord's anointed," and because of that David refused to do him any harm or even to speak ill of him. Had Saul let him, David would have continued to serve him gladly. We ordain elders (both ruling and teaching) and deacons by the laying on of hands and with prayer. They are God's anointed leaders for His church. 1 Timothy 5:17-19 says, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages.' Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses." This says to me that we must treat church leaders with the same respect that David accorded to Saul, even when, like Saul, they're wrong. God has appointed ways of dealing with wayward pastors, elders and deacons. Gossip, innuendo and slander are not among them.

I grew up in the church, I've served as a teaching elder for over thirty years, and I've served and staffed the Committee on Ministry (the committee of presbytery that cares for pastors and churches and intervenes to settle differences). I've seen pastors chewed up and spit out more times than I can count. Of course pastors aren't perfect, but the vast majority are good men and women who are trying their best to serve God. They are God's anointed, though, and we should be careful how we deal with them. I'm reluctant to talk about this because it might seem self-serving. But I'm going ahead because it will be beneficial for you. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." Pastors and other leaders are accountable to the church. Constructive criticism is helpful and healthy. But just as David didn't lay a hand on Saul, God's anointed, think carefully before you presume to rip into God's anointed ones in the church. End of sermon.

Tomorrow we'll look at David as he assumes the role of king. I leave you with a beautiful a capella rendition of Psalm 18, which David wrote while fleeing from Saul. It's from the 1650 Scottish Psalter, which our ancestors used in their worship.