Introduction:

A lesson for us and a lesson to pass on to the next generation.

1 Samuel 27 NLT
David among the Philistines
^27:1 But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.”
² So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. ³ David and his men and their families settled there with Achish at Gath. David brought his two wives along with him—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow from Carmel. ⁴ Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him.
⁵ One day David said to Achish, “If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city.”
⁶ So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag (which still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day), ⁷ and they lived there among the Philistines for a year and four months.
⁸ David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times. ⁹ David did not leave one person alive in the villages he attacked. He took the sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish.
¹⁰ “Where did you make your raid today?” Achish would ask.
And David would reply, “Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites.”
¹¹ No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines. ¹² Achish believed David and thought to himself, “By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!”

Examine the Scriptures

1 Samuel 27 NLT
David among the Philistines 

^27:1 But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get me.

Two other translations:

Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. (ESV) 

But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. (NIV)

• David falters in his faith.

Sometimes we falter in our faith.

Events David needed to remember:

1 Samuel 16:13 NLT
¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

1 Samuel 23:14 NLT
¹⁴ David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.

1 Samuel 23:17 NLT
¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.”

1 Samuel 24:20 NLT
²⁰ And now I (Saul) realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule.

1 Samuel 26:25 NLT (previous passage)
²⁵ And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.” Then David went away, and Saul returned home.

1 Samuel 25:29-31 NLT Abigail
²⁹ “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! ³⁰ When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, ³¹ don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!” 

REMEMBER all that God has done for you in the past.

David’s own words:

1 Chronicles 16:11-12 NLT
¹¹ Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
¹² Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

Psalm 78:4 NLT (A psalm of Asaph.)
⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.                                                  

• Remind yourself of everything God has done for you.

 The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.”

David does not appear to be seeking God’s guidance like he has done in the past.

One example of this.

1 Samuel 23:2-4 NLT
² David asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?”
“Yes, go and save Keilah,” the Lord told him.
³ But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”
⁴ So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”

David does not refer to God anywhere in this chapter.

We all need to remember to:

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

A reminder for us here today.

• • • Seek God’s will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

• David decides that he can no longer stay in Israel. 

² So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. 

For the second time David seeks refuge in the land of the Philistines. (David is now known by the Philistines as a formidable adversary of Saul.) 

³ David and his men and their families settled there with Achish at Gath.

Gath was one of the five great Philistine cities.

This was the final stage of David’s “outlaw” career.

David and his men present themselves to king Achish as mercenaries.

Mercenaries are soldiers who fight for money, not loyalty or ideology. They have been hired by kings, empires, and warlords throughout history. 

David brought his two wives along with him—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow from Carmel. 

David and his 600 men and their families move to Gath.  Though David is the rightful king of Israel, he believes that he must remain in exile for the time being. 

⁴ Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him.

Saul would now have to take on the Philistines to get to David.

With David out of the country he would not appear to be as much of a threat to Saul.

• Saul stops hunting for David. 

⁵ One day David said to Achish, “If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city.”

David wanted to get away from the watchful eye of Achish.  He wanted the freedom to act without interference. 

⁶ So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag (which still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day), ⁷ and they lived there among the Philistines for a year and four months.

At this point in time Ziklag was a Philistine town.

In Ziklag David could come and go without constant observation by the Philistines.

David lived in Ziklag until the time of Saul’s death.

• David and his men move to Ziklag, away from the watchful eye of Achish. 

⁸ David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times. 

David pretends to be loyal to Achish by attacking various non-Israelite people in the area while giving Achish that he is attacking Israel itself.

The Geshurites, living in an area south of Philistia, were not defeated at the time of the conquest of the Promised Land.

The Girzites are not mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament.

The Amalekites were bitter foes of Israel.

All three groups were troublesome to both the Philistines and the Israelites.

David was clearing the Promised Land of Israel’s enemies so that the Israelites could occupy the land.

• David pretends to be loyal to Achish by attacking various non-Israelite people in the area while giving Achish that he is attacking Israel itself. 

⁹ David did not leave one person alive in the villages he attacked.

¹¹ No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been.

Deuteronomy 20:16-18
¹⁶ In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. ¹⁷ You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹⁸ This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the Lord your God.

He took the sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish.

This would provide David and his men additional resources necessary for his men and their families to survive. (refer to comments under verse 3)

¹⁰ “Where did you make your raid today?” Achish would ask.

And David would reply, “Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites (on friendly terms with David – descendants of Judah), and the Kenites (on friendly terms with the Israelites).”

David lied.

• Achish believed that David was attacking the outposts of Israel itself. He believed that David was being loyal to the Philistines.

¹¹ No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines.  

¹² Achish believed David and thought to himself, “By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!”

At this point in time David had Achish fooled.

Proverbs 1:32 NLT
Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

If David had been raiding the southern portions of Judah, he would have alienated himself from the Israelites and would have become dependent on the Philistines.

David Spares Saul Again

1 Samuel chapter 26 resembles chapter 24, but it is clearly talking about a different event.

1 Samuel 26 NLT
26 Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.”
² So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. ³ Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. When David learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, ⁴ he sent out spies to verify the report of Saul’s arrival.
⁵ David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. ⁶ “Who will volunteer to go in there with me?” David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother.
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. ⁷ So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.
⁸ “God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!”
⁹ “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? ¹⁰ Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!”
¹² So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put Saul’s men into a deep sleep.
¹³ David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. ¹⁴ Then he shouted down to the soldiers and to Abner son of Ner, “Wake up, Abner!”
“Who is it?” Abner demanded.
¹⁵ “Well, Abner, you’re a great man, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? ¹⁶ This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the Lord’s anointed! Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?”
¹⁷ Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?”
And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king. ¹⁸ Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? ¹⁹ But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the Lord. For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the Lord’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’ ²⁰ Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”
²¹ Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”
²² “Here is your spear, O king,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. ²³ The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord’s anointed one. ²⁴ Now may the Lord value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”
²⁵ And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.” Then David went away, and Saul returned home.

Examine the Scriptures

1 Samuel 26 NLT
David Spares Saul Again

^26:1 Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.”

• David and his men, still hiding from Saul, moved back to the wilderness of Ziph.

The wilderness of Ziph with its hilly terrain, dotted with numerous caves, provided many good hiding places.

The Ziphites betrayed David to Saul for the second time.

Previously:
1 Samuel 23:19 NLT
¹⁹ But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. “We know where David is hiding,” they said. “He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon.

The Ziphites do not want David staying in their territory. 

² So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. 

• Once again, despite his earlier remorse, Saul pursued David, hoping to kill him.

As far as we know, this is Saul’s final pursuit of David. 

³ Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. When David learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, ⁴ he sent out spies to verify the report of Saul’s arrival.
⁵ David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. 

In chapter 24 David was on the defensive.  Here in chapter 26 David is more on the offensive.

⁶ “Who will volunteer to go in there with me?” David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother.
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. 

Abishai was a son of David’s sister Zeruiah. Abishai was a skilled and faithful soldier.

Abishai and Joab were David’s nephews.

Joab later became David’s commander-in-chief.

Ahimelech was a Hittite.  The Hittites lived in Canaan but were not driven out by the Israelites when they conquered the Promised Land.

David’s band of men included family members, Israelite men, and it even included men from other nations. 

⁷ So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head.

Three times previous to this, Saul had used his spear to attack David.  The spear was an instrument of death.  The spear was also a symbol of Saul’s rule, similar to a scepter, a traditional sign of authority.

This traditional sign of authority still exists among some Bedouin Arabs today. (Dr. Constable)

1 Samuel 22:6 NLT
⁶ The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers.

Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.

David arrived at Saul’s camp during the night. 

⁸ “God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!” 

⁹ “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? ¹⁰ Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!

Once again David refused to harm the Lord’s anointed.

In David’s mind, it was up to God to decide when Saul would die.

But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!”

Saul’s spear was an instrument of death, or a symbol of Saul’s authority.

A jug of water represented a life-giving vessel.

¹² So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put Saul’s men into a deep sleep.

• David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep. They took Saul’s spear and his jug of water and got away without anyone seeing them.

¹³ David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. ¹⁴ Then he shouted down to the soldiers and to Abner son of Ner, “Wake up, Abner!”
“Who is it?” Abner demanded.
¹⁵ “Well, Abner, you’re a great man, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? ¹⁶ This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the Lord’s anointed! Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?”

Abner was Saul’s cousin.

• David addressed Abner because he was responsible for leaving the Lord’s anointed unprotected.

David, rather than Saul’s bodyguard, Abner, was responsible for sparing Saul’s life.

Abner and his men deserved to die for their failure in duty.

¹⁷ Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?”

Again Saul calls David his son.

And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king. 

This time, however, David does not address Saul as “father”.

At this point in time David, technically, was no longer Saul’s son-in-law. 

¹⁸ Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? ¹⁹ But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the Lord.

• David questioned Saul’s motives for chasing him.

David was asking if Saul’s was acting in obedience to God or was he simply acting on his own.

If Saul’s actions were prompted by God, David was ready to ask God to forgive him for the wrong he had done.

If Saul was acting on his own, David felt that he and his men should be cursed by God. 

For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the Lord’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’  

²⁰ Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord?

Saul’s actions had forced David to leave his home and live like a fugitive.

• To be expelled from the Lord’s land was to be separated from the Lord’s sanctuary.

Hosea 9:3 NLT
³ You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.
Instead, you will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria you will eat food
that is ceremonially unclean. 

Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”

A flea is essentially harmless but annoying.

A partridge is a harmless bird that darts from one tree to another when pursued by a hunter, but tires rather quickly and then can be easily caught.

²¹ Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”

• Again Saul confesses that he has sinned. Saul states “I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”

Saul’s behavior was both foolish and ungodly.

“I have been a fool” is an accurate autobiography of Saul’s life.

There is no indication in scripture that Saul ever tried again to interfere with God’s plans for David. 

²² “Here is your spear, O king,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. 

• David returns Saul’s spear symbolizing the fact that Saul still the King of Israel.

David does not return the water jug. (The life giving vessel.) 

²³ The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord’s anointed one. ²⁴ Now may the Lord value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”

• Once again David stated that his trust was in the Lord, and the Lord would reward him for his loyalty.

David may have written Psalm 54 at this point in time. 

²⁵ And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.”

• Once again Saul recognized that David was destined to become the king of Israel.

This is the last recorded words of Saul to David. 

Then David went away, and Saul returned home.

David moves into the territory of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 27:1)

 

 

 

 

 

Abigail Intercedes for Nabal

The Story of a Peacemaker (Part 2)

1 Samuel 25:23-44 NLT
(reread 1 Samuel 25:1-22)
1 Samuel 25:1-22 NLT
The Death of Samuel
^25:1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.
Nabal Angers David
Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. ² There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
⁴ When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, ⁵ he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: ⁶ “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! ⁷ I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. ⁸ Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” ⁹ David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply.
¹⁰ “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”
¹² So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. ¹³ “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.
¹⁴ Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. ¹⁵ These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. ¹⁶ In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. ¹⁷ You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”
¹⁸ Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys ¹⁹ and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
²⁰ As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. ²¹ David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. ²² May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”
Abigail Intercedes for Nabal
²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. ²⁵ I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent.
²⁶ “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. ²⁷ And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. ²⁸ Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.
²⁹ “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! ³⁰ When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, ³¹ don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”
³² David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! ³³ Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. ³⁴ For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” ³⁵ Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.”
³⁶ When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.
David Marries Abigail
³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.
⁴⁰ When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.”
⁴¹ She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” ⁴² Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife. ⁴³ David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

Examine the Scriptures

David and Nabal
1 Samuel 25:23-44 NLT

• Abigail Intercedes for Nabal.

One of Nabal’s servants had gone to Abigail asking her to intercede for Nabal.

The servant told Abigail that she needed to know what has happened between David and Nabal and figure out what to do, for there would be trouble for Nabal and his whole family. The servant told Abaigail that Nabal is so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 

It took a great deal of courage, boldness, and wisdom for Abigail to take her life into her hands to do what she was doing.

²⁴ She fell at his feet and said,

As soon as Abigail met up with David, she treated him with respect.

“I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 

Abigail was accepting the blame for something she had not done.

• Abigail displayed qualities of courage, boldness, wisdom, respect, and humility.
  

²⁵ I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him.

Proverbs 4:19 NLT
¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.
They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

Luke 23:34
³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

He is a fool, just as his name suggests.

Abigail called her husband a fool.

Abigail response may have appeared to be the actions of a disloyal spouse, but in reality her actions prevented the senseless murder of her husband and all of the (innocent) men of his household.

• In a roundabout way Abigail was protecting her husband. 

But I never even saw the young men you sent.

Abigail may have acted sooner if she had been aware of what was happening.

²⁶ “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 

“since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands,”

• It appears that Abigail knew that the Lord was using her to prevent David from doing something foolish.

At this point in time David was, in fact, on his way to kill Nabal and his men.

In David’s mind, the Lord had not “kept him from murdering and taking vengeance into his own hands”.

• It appears that Abigail understood the sovereignty of the Lord.

• Abigail knew that vengeance should come from the Lord. (More about this later in the lesson.)

Note:  Don’t miss the fact that the Lord is using Abigail in amazing ways.

The Lord really is making Abigail the hero of this story.

• God uses common, ordinary, everyday people to change the course of history. 

²⁷ And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. 

Verse 18
200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. 

²⁸ Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. 

• Abigail had good people skills. 

The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles.

Earlier in this chapter, Nabal acted as if he did not know who David was.

¹⁰ “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is?

Abigail: 

Abigail believed that David would become the King of Israel

Abigail stated:

you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.

Abigail would have known about David’s victories over the Philistines.

• Abigail knew some of David’s history.

Husband and wife had two totally different understandings as to who David was. 

And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. 

• David had a good “track record” with most of the people of Israel.

1 Samuel 18:5-7 NLT
⁵ Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.
⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.^[a] 7 This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!” 

²⁹ “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch!

God cares for His own as a man would care for his valuable treasure.

But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 

God flings our enemies away like a stone in a sling.

David and Goliath?

• Abigail had good spiritual insights. 

³⁰ When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 

Abigail was certain that God would make David the leader of Israel. 

³¹ don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance.

Don’t blemish your record by the needless bloodshed of Nabal and the men of his household.

Romans 12:19 NLT
¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.

Ezekiel 25:17 NLT
¹⁷ I will execute terrible vengeance against them to punish them for what they have done. And when I have inflicted my revenge, they will know that I am the Lord.”

Hebrews 10:30 NLT
³⁰ For we know the one who said,
“I will take revenge.
I will pay them back.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.” 

Matthew 5:38-39 NLT
Teaching about Revenge
³⁸ “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

• The needless bloodshed of Nabal and the men of his household would have been a blemish on David’s record. 

And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”

³² David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! ³³ Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. ³⁴ For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” 

• David realized that the lord, the God of Israel had sent Abigail to intervene in this matter. Here again we see the sovereignty of God at work.

³⁵ Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.”

• David accepted the food Abigail had brought as well as following her advice.

David broke the vow he made in verse 22.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 NLT
²¹ “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. ²² However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. ²³ But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.

Leviticus 5:4-6 NLT
⁴ “Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt.
⁵ “When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. ⁶ Then you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 5:5
⁵ It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. (NLT) 

⁵ It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. (NIV) 

³⁶ When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king.

Nabal was not a king.

He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. 

Abigail’s words to Nabal had a devastating effect.

³⁸ About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.”

• Nabal’s death was God’s punishment for his sin. David was not responsible for a “vengeful murder”.

David Marries Abigail
Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.

David lost no time in asking Abigail to become his wife.

Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. (v.3)

⁴⁰ When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, “David has sent us to take you back to marry him.”
⁴¹ She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” ⁴² Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife.

• David asks Abigail to become his wife.

 ⁴³ David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. 

Ahinoam was also the name of Saul’s wife.

⁴⁴ Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

David most likely had not seen Michal since she had helped him escape from Saul (chapter 19).

After Saul died in a battle against the Philistines, David demanded Michal back as his wife as a condition of his becoming king of Judah. His condition was met (2 Samuel 3:13–16).

FYI

According to the Bible, King David had eight wives. The names of his wives are mentioned in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles. Here are the names of his wives:

1. Michal
2. Abigail
3. Ahinoam
4. Maacah
5. Haggith
6. Abital
7. Eglah
8. Bathsheba

2 Samuel 5:13 NLT
¹³ After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters.

1 Chronicles 3:9 NLT
⁹ These were the sons of David, not including his sons born to his concubines.

Food for thought: 

Deuteronomy 17:17 NLT
¹⁷ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. 

 

 

Introduction:

David and Nabal

The Story of a Peacemaker (Part 1)

1 Samuel 25:1-22 NLT
The Death of Samuel
^25:1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.
Nabal Angers David
Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. ² There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
⁴ When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, ⁵ he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: ⁶ “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! ⁷ I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. ⁸ Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” ⁹ David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply.
¹⁰ “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”
¹² So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. ¹³ “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.
¹⁴ Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. ¹⁵ These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. ¹⁶ In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. ¹⁷ You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”
¹⁸ Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys ¹⁹ and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
²⁰ As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. ²¹ David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. ²² May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”

Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 25:1-22 NLT
The Death of Samuel 

^25:1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah. 

“all Israel assembled and mourned for him;” NIV

1 and 2 Samuel are named after the person God used to transition Israel from a federation of tribes to a centralized kingdom.

• This was a critical period of history for Israel. God’s chosen people were transitioning from judgeship to monarchy, from loose tribal affiliation to strong central government.

Samuel was the last of the Judges.

This was the end of an era for Israel.

What had happened up to this point?  How had God used Samuel?

The Lord had called Samuel.

Samuel had served as a priest, prophet, and judge.

God reopened the lines of communication with Israel through Samuel.

In those days messages from the Lordwere very rare, but God did speak to Samuel.

Samuel was God’s spokesman for all of Israel.

Samuel was recognized as a leader of national prominence.

The Lord had turned away from Saul. (1 Samuel 18:12)

God commissioned Samuel to anoint David as the next king of Israel. (1 Samuel 16:12-13)

God’s plans haven’t changed. It was always God’s intention for David to become king and for Jesus to come from the line of David.

David was a descendent of Judah.

Saul recognized that David was going to be the next king of Israel and that the kingdom would flourish under David’s rule. (1 Samuel 24:20)

David took his place as God’s major channel of blessing to the nation.

David was about to become the next king of Israel.

Samuel’s work on earth was completed.

Nabal Angers David

This story comes between two accounts of Saul pursuing David.

• David is not the hero of this chapter. A woman named Abigail is the hero of this story. Once again God used a woman to avert a tragedy in Israel’s history. 

Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. (refer to a map)

• David is still on the run, hiding from Saul.

Again, David is on the move.

Think about the fact that it takes a lot of provisions to sustain 600 men.

David was in dire need for provisions.

Life for David and his men was hard.

Psalm 63, a psalm of David, talking about a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah, says in verse one: 

¹ O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.

It would be easy to understand why David and his men could become discouraged.

This could account for the fact that David did not conduct himself completely honorably at this time.

• It takes a lot of provisions to sustain 600 men. 

² There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town (village) of Carmel.

What do we already know about Carmel?

1 Samuel 15:12 NLT
¹² Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”

7 miles south of Hebron.

Saul was giving himself, not God, credit for the military victories over the surrounding nations.

Pride

Self-centered.

Saul commemorated his own accomplishments by erecting a monument to himself. 

Later when Samuel found Saul.

1 Samuel 15:26 NLT
²⁶ But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

Here God has rejected Saul as king of Israel.

He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, 

• The scriptures tell us that Nabal was a wealthy man.

Nabal clearly had more resources than he needed for himself. 

and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. 

More about Nabal’s wife, Abigail, later in the story. 

But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings. 

Nabal’s name must have been a nickname, since it means “Fool” or “boorish” in Hebrew.

Nabal was a descendant of Caleb, one of the 12 spies, who had received Hebron and the surrounding area as his inheritance from Joshua (Josh. 15:13).

Nabal was unlike his ancestor in many ways.

He was foolish, but Caleb was wise.

Nabal did not take God into account, but Caleb counted on God’s promises.

Nabal opposed God’s purposes and died prematurely, but Caleb cooperated with God and lived long.

Nabal did not possess the spiritual qualities of his illustrious forefather.

**Note: Our offspring do not automatically possess the faith we have.

• Nabal was crude and mean in all his dealings.

Simply put, Nabal was a nasty person.

⁴ When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 

Sheep-shearing time for herdsman was like harvest time for farmers.

Sheep-shearing was a festive occasion, (see verse 8) a time of celebration, feasting, and thankfulness. 

⁵ he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: 

⁶ “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! ⁷ I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. ⁸ Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” 

whatever you can find for them NIV

whatever you have at hand ESV

whatever you have on hand CEB

Asking for “any provisions you might have on hand” implies that David was not expecting something from Nabal that he was unable to give.

However, sending ten young men suggests that David was asking for a substantial handout.
We did say earlier that it takes a lot of provisions to sustain 600 men.

It is likely that, from time to time, other farmers and shepherds contributed supplies to David and his men.  David and his men may have also raided Philistine communities to obtain supplies.

• David asked Nabal to share any provisions he might have on hand with himself and his men.

This is certainly a reasonable request. 

⁹ David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply. 

¹⁰ “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”

Nabal, for no good reason, refuses David’s request and he treats David’s men with contempt.

Nabal almost certainly would have known who David was, but he refused to recognize God’s anointed servant.

On the other hand, Nabal’s servant had a lot of good to say about David (verses 14-16).

• Nabal refused David’s request and treated David and his men with contempt.

¹² So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. ¹³ “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.

David overreacted to Nabal’s insulting rebuff. He prepared to attack and kill every male in Nabal’s household that very night (vv. 22, 34).

When Nabal refused to comply with David’s request for food, David decided to take what he needed by force.

Pride?? Ego??   Anxious??

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT (This may be difficult to do.)
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

• David overreacted to Nabal’s insulting rebuff. 

¹⁴ Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. ¹⁵ These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. ¹⁶ In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 

David and his men had protected Nabal’s shepherds and flocks from pillage.

David’s armed followers had been patrolling the wilderness where Nabal’s shepherds had been tending his flocks. They had made that area safe from raiding Amalekites, Philistines, and occasional wild animals that might have harassed Nabal’s shepherds. It was only common courtesy that wealthy Nabal would have expressed his appreciation to David by providing some food for David’s men.

¹⁷ You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. 

• One of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail asking her to intervene.

He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”

Nabal was a wicked man.  His unwillingness to seek the counsel of others ultimately led to his demise.

Proverbs 22:24 NLT
²⁴ Don’t befriend angry people
or associate with hot-tempered people,

Proverbs 15:18 NLT
¹⁸ A hot-tempered person starts fights;
a cool-tempered person stops them.

Proverbs 14:17 NLT
¹⁷ Short-tempered people do foolish things, … 

¹⁸ Abigail wasted no time.

Abigail – my father rejoices or my father was delighted.

She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys ¹⁹ and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

• When Abigail learned of Nabal’s response to David she decided to intervene.

Abigail choose to do the right thing.

Acts 5:29 NLT
²⁹ But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

The contrast between Nabal and Abigail could not be clearer.

Nabal was foolish; Abigail was wise.
He was evil; she was good.
He was repulsive; she was attractive.
He was arrogant; she was humble.
He was ungodly; she was godly.
He was antagonistic; she was peacemaking.
They were a mismatched couple but there are other mismatched couples in scripture as well as in our lives today. 

²⁰ As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her.  

²¹ David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good.  

David’s thinking is off track.

Luke 6:35 NLT
³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

Galatians 6:10 NLT
¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. 

²² May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!” 

David invokes a curse on himself.

This comment is a bit extreme but was a conditional curse that we heard previously. (Which doesn’t make it right.)

1 Samuel 3:15-18 NLT
¹⁵ Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. ¹⁶ But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
¹⁷ “What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!” ¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”

1 Samuel 14:43-44 NLT
⁴³ “Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan.
“I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”
⁴⁴ “Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”

• David’s vengeful attitude toward Nabal displays his natural tendency.

This story magnifies David’s restraint toward Saul, the Lord’s anointed.

 

To be continued.

David Spares Saul’s Life

Introduction:

We are continuing our journey with David who is being pursued by Saul through the wilderness.

1 Samuel 24 NLT
^24:1 After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. ² So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats.
³ At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!
⁴ “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.
⁵ But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” ⁷ So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.
After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, ⁸ David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.
⁹ Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? ¹⁰ This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’ ¹¹ Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.
¹² “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. ¹³ As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. ¹⁴ Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? ¹⁵ May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”
¹⁶ When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. ¹⁸ Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. ¹⁹ Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. ²⁰ And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. ²¹ Now swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”
²² So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.

Examine the Scriptures

David Spares Saul’s Life
^24:1 After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines,

A significant amount of time may have passed between chapter 23 and chapter 24. 

he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. ² So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats.

3,000 elite troops vs. 600 “men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discounted”.

The odds are 5 to 1 against David and his men.

En-gedi lay near the Dead Sea’s western shore.  It is a refreshing oasis with waterfalls, pools, tropical plants, and wild goats.

Psalm 57 or Psalm 142 may be referring to this event.

• David and his men are outnumbered 5 to 1 as Saul searches for them in the wilderness of En-gedi. 

³ At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself.

Saul went into the cave to use the restroom.

Since Saul was going into the cave to relieve himself, he went in alone.  Under these conditions Saul would not have seen the need to take his personal bodyguard into the cave. 

But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!

“But as it happened” may not be a good translation of this verse.

This event did not take place “by chance”.

The NIV says:
He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 

• It is helpful to use several different translations when doing a Bible study. 

⁴ “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’”

Without a question, Saul’s life was in David’s hands.

Scripture does not indicate anywhere else that God had said to David, “I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.” 

• It is always important to evaluate the advice of others in the light of God’s Word, even (especially) when they claim to know God’s will.

 So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.

A king’s hem was especially ornate and identified him as the king. By cutting off this piece of Saul’s robe David was communicating to Saul that he could cut off Saul’s reign just as easily.

This was evidence that David had an opportunity to kill King Saul.

⁵ But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 

This act convicted David.

The advice of David’s men may have caused David to do something he felt bad about doing. 

⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” 

David knew that the Lord had anointed Saul to be king and David believed that the judgment and removal of Saul from the position of king had to be left to the Lord.

1 Samuel 26:9 NLT
⁹ “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one?

The scriptures tell us to respect those in authority.

Romans 13:1-5 NLT
Respect for Authority
^13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. ² So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. ³ For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. ⁴ The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. ⁵ So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

1 Peter 2:13-14a NLT
Respecting People in Authority
¹³ For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, ¹⁴ or the officials he has appointed.  

• Scripture tells us to submit to those in authority. 

• Scripture also tells us to pray for all who are in authority.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 NLT
^2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. ² Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and pleases God our Savior, 

⁷ So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. 

After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, ⁸ David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.

David clearly respected the position of king. 

⁹ Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you?  

Saul had thought that David wanted to kill him.

1 Samuel 22:8 &13 NLT
⁸ Is that why you (Saul’s officers) have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse. You’re not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son—encouraging him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day!” 

¹³ “Why have you (Ahimelech) and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Saul demanded. “Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you consulted God for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day?” 

¹⁰ This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’  

• David would not hurt the king, because Saul was the Lord’s anointed king. 

¹¹ Look, my father,

Saul was David’s father-in-law.

at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.

• David was not Saul’s enemy.

David did have a good reason to kill Saul. Saul was trying to kill David. 

¹² “May the Lord judge between us.

David called for the Lord to decide the fate of himself and Saul.

Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. ¹³ As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’

Matthew 7:20 NLT
²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Psalm 75:7 NLT A psalm of Asaph.
⁷ It is God alone who judges;
he decides who will rise and who will fall. 

 So you can be sure I will never harm you. ¹⁴ Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? 

¹⁵ May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”

Again, David called for the Lord to decide the fate of himself and Saul.

• It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall. (Psalm 75:7 NLT) 

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. 

1 Peter 3:9 NLT
⁹ Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.

Romans 12:17-21 NLT
¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
²⁰ Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

• Don’t repay evil for evil.

¹⁸ Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. ¹⁹ Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. 

• Saul acknowledged David’s righteousness. 

²⁰ And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. 

Saul acknowledged the fact that David would be the next king of Israel and that Israel would flourish under David’s rule.

1 Samuel 13:14 NLT Samuel speaking to Saul
¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

1 Samuel 15:28 NLT
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 

Saul appeals to David. 

²¹ Now swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!” 

As we mentioned before, it was a common practice at this time for a newly established king to wipe out the entire family of a previous king.

This pledge was fulfilled through Mephibosheth. 

²² So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.

• Saul’s remorse may have been genuine, but David had learned that it would probably be only temporary so he went back to his stronghold.