David Spares Saul; Samuel Dies (1 Samuel 24:1 – 25:1)

When Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he heard that David was in the wilderness of En Gedi.  He took men to hunt for him at the Rocks of the Wild Goats.  Saul went into a cave to go to the restroom, and David and his men were deep in the cave.  David’s men saw this as a sign of God’s favor that Saul could be killed in the cave.  David arose and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.  He even felt badly about that, and stated the famous words, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD (NKJV).”  David restrained his men, and Saul left the cave.  David eventually followed him outside and called to Saul, bowing down before the king, and revealed what happened in the cave.  He asked him to look at the corner of his robe, and realize that David was not out to kill or harm him.  David characterized himself as a dead dog or a flea.  After David’s speech, Saul’s wept out loud and declared that David was more righteous than himself.  He said that he was sure that David would one day be king, and simply asked that he would not kill his descendants after Saul died.  David made that promise, and they parted company.  Then Samuel died, and Israel mourned for him.  David then arose and went to the Wilderness of Paran.

The primary message of this story is the idea of being loyal to those in power.  God had placed Saul in power, and he was still technically God’s anointed.  David knew the chain of command, and remained loyal to Saul, even though Saul was marked for destruction and was unrighteously seeking David’s death.  This seems like an impossible, even ridiculous, enterprise.  David could have easily been justified by most people of his day, but David took the high road.  It is important for us to understand that loyalty and submission to authority are the right path, even though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom.  God placed authority over us for our good, and we should trust God to take care of us, even when others seek our harm.