1 Samuel 24:1-22

And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ³ And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. ⁵ And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. ⁶ And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. ⁷ So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. ⁸ David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. ⁹ And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? ¹⁰ Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed. ¹¹ Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. ¹² The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. ¹³ As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁴ After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. ¹⁵ The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand. ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹⁷ And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. ¹⁸ And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. ¹⁹ For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. ²¹ Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. ²² And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” is a phrase our culture uses to express that revenge is so sweet when carried out carefully after time has passed to avoid emotional distraction so as to accomplish the full effect of revenge on the other person. However, as Christians, revenge is a dish best not served at all. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Rome, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Because we are fallen, one of the great temptations you and I will face in life is what we do when others sin against us. That strong temptation is to take matters into our own hands and do what we think will make things right. The call of God’s people throughout Scripture, in the Old and New Testaments alike, is to leave judgment and personal justice in God’s hands. There is a time for governments and legal processes to have their say when crimes are committed, but when it comes to personal offenses, you and I are called to respond with forgiveness and kindness, leaving the matter of vengeance in God’s hands. One of, if not the, greatest evidence of self-control given by the Holy Spirit in a walk with God is what you and I do when the time finally comes for us to possibly take matters into our own hands and get even. For a while, David had been on the run from King Saul, a man that he had benefited greatly and a man he had faithfully served. Despite that, Saul, driven by jealous rage, had been hunting down David. David had lost everything from a worldly perspective. He had lost his home, his wife, his best friend, all comfort, and all earthly security, but the Lord remained with him. However, what we find is that although David was not a perfect man, he had done nothing to King Saul to cause Saul to act that way toward him. In the process of time, an opportunity presented itself for David to end all of his troubles with Saul. What would he do? Saul went to relieve himself in a cave and unwittingly made himself vulnerable to attack from David and his men. It would have been so easy to dispose of Saul, but how would David handle it? How would you? In 1 Samuel 24, we will learn three things that you and I need to keep in mind when the time finally comes.

First, we need to recognize God’s testing. After God had delivered David from Saul in 1 Samuel 23 through the Philistine invasion, Saul returned from fighting them to hunting David “in the wilderness of Engedi” with “three thousand chosen men out of all Israel.” This shows us that his passion for killing David had only intensified. While hunting for David there, Saul found a cave where he could “cover his feet” (a euphemism for relieving himself), but he did not realize that David and his men were nearby. David’s men encouraged David to strike and even suggested that this was God’s providence to get Saul out of the way and David to the throne. There are times when everything seems to line up providentially for us to take a certain action that we’ve wanted to take, but just because everything lines up for us in those cases, it does not mean it is God’s will for us to act. We cannot live our lives by circumstances, but by the Word of God. If we do not, we will make an absolute mess of things. David knew better because he knew that the throne and the kingdom were not his to take, but God’s to give. He knew that it would be sinful to strike God’s anointed king, even if he knew that God had rejected Saul. Why? Exodus 22:28 says not to even speak evil of a ruler, so bringing one harm to one was out of the question for David. It is upon that principle of honoring the God-ordained authority that David stopped his men from acting. Instead, David only cut off a small portion of Saul’s robe as a sign of what had transpired. David’s conscience was even pricked by this action and there is much debate about whether it was right or wrong to cut off Saul’s robe. The principle in operation there is that God’s will must be accomplished God’s way, not our way. David knew he would be king, but he also knew that the timing was God’s business, not his. What was before David that day was a test, a test to see whether David would follow the selfish ambition like Saul or whether he would humbly trust in the Lord. Saul had failed this test several times. He didn’t wait on Samuel for the sacrifice in 1 Samuel 13 and he didn’t obey God’s voice in 1 Samuel 15 because he feared the people who pressured him. David went against the urges of his men and acted obediently. It is in those moments in the crucible that true character and faith is revealed. We must recognize God’s testing, allowing His Word to guide us and not our circumstances.

Next, we need to rely on God’s judgment. After Saul had left the cave, David went out and cried out after him, showing the proof of the cut piece of Saul’s garment that he could have taken matters into his own hands and killed Saul that day. David demonstrated two things that we should emulate. First, he demonstrated a respect for Saul’s authority, despite Saul being his enemy. He “bowed himself” before Saul as king (v. 8) and addressed Saul as “Father” (v. 11), a term of respect and love. Second, David situated the entire circumstance in his words in light of the providence of God. David was content to resign the whole matter to God saying, “The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee” (v. 12). We are all familiar with the two greatest commandments laid out for us in the New Testament, but we often do not quote the second in its original context. Leviticus 19:18 says, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” The command to love our neighbor as ourself is actually about not taking revenge or holding a grudge against another, among other things. Vengeance is God’s business (Deuteronomy 32:35-36). Whenever we take vengeance or try to get even with anyone, even in the smallest of ways, we are usurping God’s role and His authority and playing God ourselves. Have we ever considered how serious that is? Instead, you and I must follow the example of David here and the ultimate example of the greater David, the Lord Jesus, of whom the Apostle Peter wrote, “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). We must rely on God’s judgment and trust that “the Judge of the all the earth” will always “do right” (Genesis 18:25).

Lastly, we need to rest in God’s faithfulness. Ultimately, David was able to recognize the test before Him and rely on God’s judgment because he knew the promise of God concerning his life. He knew that it was God’s will for him to be king. God is always faithful. What He says, He will certainly do in His time and in His way. That is where Saul failed time and again and why he continually took matters into his own hands. He was insecure in his relationship with the Lord. Being secure in our relationship with the Lord gives us the freedom to absolve ourselves of any need to manipulate circumstances or take matters into our own hands. From that place of security, we trust that God will be God. When Saul recognized that it was David and what had just happened, he asked a rhetorical question, “For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away?” He essentially asked, “Who does this kind of thing?” The answer is only a person who truly trusts in the Lord.  In light of David’s actions toward Saul, Saul recognized that David was the king that God had chosen to replace him. Perhaps he had known for a while and this was just the final confirmation. Whatever the case, David’s character in the situation matched what Samuel had said about the king that God would select to replace Saul as being “a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). Saul saw God’s own heart reflected in David’s actions. In light of Saul’s recognition of David as the next king, he asked David to not cut off his descendants and David promised not to. Despite the positive response from Saul, he would not be finished trying to hunt David down. Why could he not get it? Despite how clear everything was to Saul; he couldn’t get it right because he refused to own up to his sin. He was still unrepentant before the Lord for all that he had done. Saul’s real issue wass not that he needed deliverance from David’s hand that day, but he needed deliverance from the Lord’s hand for his own sin. He needed to be delivered from the prison that was his own sinful heart. Do you rest in God’s faithfulness or are you like Saul, stubbornly persisting in your own way?

The circumstances of our lives reveal the depth of our faith and spiritual maturity. They reveal where our trust really is. If difficulty comes and we resort to taking matters into our own hands through dishonesty or manipulation, we are not trusting in the Lord. However, if we walk by faith, we will recognize the Lord’s testing, rely on His judgment, and rest in His faithfulness. We won’t need to take vengeance or any other matter into our own hands when the time finally comes. Instead, we will reflect the character of God to others as we trust in Him.