Divine Setup

What happens when in a moment God turns things around? Decisions that are made that shift everything in a different direction. God moves and as we move with him our life and circumstances change.

What we are talking about today is alot like this – I Samuel 24-26 shows 3 occasions that David has the opportunity to avenge his enemies. But in each case he doesn’t. And the reality is what we are seeing transpire in these chapters is a transfer of power, while at the same time, the king-elect is being tested. The main question you find in these chapters is: Do I take things into my own hands or let God decide and work in alignment with him and according to his principles.

So starting with chapter 24, what is the setting? David is in the wilderness (can you relate to that?) Why? Well, the king was constantly trying to hunt him down. And again in this case When Saul finds out where David is, what does he do? I Samuel 24:2 tells us that Saul takes 3,000 chosen men to seek David in the wilderness. Seems a little like overkill but at this point we shouldn’t be too surprised. So, what happens? What we are really starting to see is a transfer of power, Saul is losing his kingly authority and becoming weaker, while David is becoming stronger. And it certainly could also be said that David’s choice to avoid bloodshed was in fact a qualification to be the leader of the nation.

Now, remember Saul is king, yet he leaves his men and goes into a cave to relieve himself. So, what we have here is a leader who is very vulnerable. Because he leaves his men he has no protection and because he is taking care of personal needs in a cave, he is doubly vulnerable. And get this, for it is no accident, for God is always moving our lives around the board. Saul actually chooses the very cave where David and his men are. So Saul basically walks right into a trap, though not intentional by either party. At once David’s men urge him to take action –

And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” I Samuel 24:4

Now what happens here is significant. David does take action; he sneaks to where Saul is and cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. To us this may not seem like much, but the reality is this was an attack on the kingship of Saul. While taking action seems warranted since Saul has been hunting David down like a dog, we notice in the text that David’s heart was struck (vs. 5). His conscience was bothering him because he had lifted up his hand against the king. The truth is what David did was symbolic; it implied a transfer of power, from the king to himself. Immediately David realized his mistake. I think the point is that he lifted his hand against someone God had anointed king of his people, so therefore his act could be interpreted as rebellion against God. The interesting part of the entire scene is God allowed Saul to fall into David’s hands. We can’t miss this point. Why? Well, think about it. What Saul had been doing for some time was obviously wrong. He was using his authority to oppress someone who had done nothing to harm him at all. And let’s not sugarcoat it, in I Samuel 22, Saul executes Ahimelech and the priests of Nob because they provided food for David. So, clearly this continual jealous pursuit of David was evil and destructive. But the question remains, if God allowed Saul to fall into David’s hand, what exactly did Yahweh expect him to do? And I think there is the key question – what do we do when things all fall into place and suddenly our enemies are in our hands. Do we strike? In verse 7, David rebukes his men not to lay a hand on Saul. Before we explore why he does this, I think we should reflect back on I Samuel 15. Remember king Saul rebelled against God and did not follow his instructions. The prophet Samuel rebuked Saul harshly because he did not completely destroy the Amalekites. And at this point Samuel tells Saul that God has rejected him as king. Right after this happens, Saul grabs Samuel’s robe and it tears. And Samuel proceeds to tell Saul that the kingdom will be torn away from him. And now the dynamic and symbolism are more clear, for David has torn or cut Saul’s robe. And what is interesting is that Saul claims to have repented – but did he? Look at his words in I Samuel 15:30:

“I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”

After this episode the prophet Samuel does not see Saul again until the day of his death. You can decide for yourself if you believe if Saul actually did repent or not, but now let’s consider David’s response.

Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And 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.’ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.” I Samuel 24:8-15

Let’s consider for a moment. David has just taken part of Saul’s robe. It is entirely possible that if David had done nothing after being convicted what he did was wrong, there could have been severe consequences. Of course, we don’t know for sure. But what we do know is that David takes action. He boldly calls to the king. But also he does so in submission. David bows down to the ground and makes sure everyone knew he was honoring Saul as king and the higher authority. David did not want to take anything that did not belong him. However, David does a lot more than this – he also addresses the problem between king Saul and himself. He asks why Saul is listening to men who are telling him lies that he wants to harm the king. David proceeds to admit what he has done and how the king fell into his hands. And even goes further by saying let the Lord judge between you and me. It really is quite startling what David does. For one, Saul had the ability to turn and attack him. David was taking a huge risk coming out of the cave. Yet he did so boldly and addressed the issues between Saul and himself with the hope of resolution and deliverance.

A few things to consider – back in I Samuel 15 after Saul tears Samuel’s robe he tells the prophet to honor him before the elders and Israel. Yet David responds in a completely different way after he cuts Saul’s robe. David is convicted and acts justly. He boldly before all the men calls to the king, tries to address the issue and admits what he has done. And even declares that the Lord judge between us. While his language is wise and shrewd, he is not hiding behind a prophet, he is not asking anyone to honor him. He calls for justice and for the Lord to decide and deliver. We see monumental differences between Saul and David. One is a big man with little character, who is even afraid of the people. Another is bold as a lion and restrains not just himself but also his men from destroying the king. And while David should not have cut the robe of the king, he sets all right by his public declaration.

And in the end Saul admits that David is more righteous that he is, and even tells David that he knows David will be king. And I think the key verse is 19. Where Saul asks, “if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe?” And I think we should consider this question carefully – After all, doesn’t God deliver us and shouldn’t we take every opportunity to succeed. In a book by Phil Tuttle called, Crucible: The Choices that Change Your Life Forever, the author notes, “Many people operate under a basic assumption that an open door is equal to divine guidance, or that the path of least resistance is the path that makes the most sense to pursue… But when going through an open door would require us to violate His character, we can know that God doesn’t want us to proceed.” It isn’t always a simple task discerning what is right, but truth always outweighs circumstances. Our feelings about what is right is not the same thing as what is actually right according to God’s standard.

When the “stars” align, I would not always act. God is bigger than the stars. While I believe God allowed Saul to be delivered into David’s hand because of the evil he had been doing – the circumstance was also a test for David. Could he stand against the winds of revenge and group think. Would he do what was right and convince others as well? And better yet, when we make a misstep how do we repent and make it right? David gives us a premium example of all of this – but the question remains, what are we going to do at that critical moment when our enemy falls into our hands. Will we reconcile with them? Will we try to usurp authority? Will we attempt to embarrass or laugh at them when they are vulnerable? Will we strike with all we can when they are down? These are probing and important questions to ask. And there are not always easy answers. But it does us good to ask, why did David withhold his hand? Why did he convince his men not to strike Saul? Because David honored God, his choices and above all his authority, even when the person had it coming. We are not God, he alone is righteous and sovereign. We leave these choices to him.

Remember in the beginning when I asked what happens when God turns things around, how decisions change circumstances. Well, I think David’s choices here changed him and what type of king he would be, and further what type of kingdom he would rule. Our choices really do matter. And I think we can draw 3 main ideas for this story about David.

1) We will be mistreated in this life. There will be times we are lied about, deceived, slandered and possible even crushed by circumstances. But we know this so we can prepare for how to deal with difficulties. We know that revenge and retaliation do not really work. We should expect some suffering however, we can trust God for the end results. I think one of the most damaging teachings is when we tell people if you are right with God, everything will be great, you will be blessed and never suffer, etc. God does bless us but the Bible does not teach that everything will be wonderful all the time, and we can see from the story of David, that is not realistic. But we can have hope that God is always watching and when we stay the course honoring him, he will deliver us and set things right.

2) Expect to be tested in the area you are called to. If you are supposed to be a writer, expect challenges in that area. One is because our spiritual enemy does not want you to succeed, but also because God will test your character in this area. But remember, God does this for the greater good, so you can be like Jesus and bless others through righteous acts. God is always working for our good and his vision is always much bigger. He wants us to multiple his blessings he has given. And often, he must test our character to bring us higher in faith and righteousness.

3) When you have been hurt or abused, there is a great temptation for revenge. Romans 12 tell us –

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:18-21

It is very hard not to lash out when we are vulnerable. But if we will leave it to God, good will come of it and many will be blessed.

In closing, I want to point out that after this experience with Saul, David did not become king immediately. We might have expected that, but that is not what happened. He would become king later on. That is a lesson for us. Even when you do what is right, things do not always go well. You must ultimately leave it to God. God has a process to develop our character; He is very wise and patient. Trust him. Even when you do what is right, there are not always immediate results. Keep believing in God, trust his character and principles. David became one of the greatest kings of Israel, and Jesus was called son of David. Wait on God. Trust his timing. Truth and character will eventually bear the fruit of righteousness, justice and peace.

Remember I asked what happens when God turns things around. In the end, triumph or trial, success or failure, we become more like Christ.