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1 Samuel chapter 24. Remember, we're in the larger 
section, beginning in chapter 16, to the end of the book, the 
story of Saul and David. Specifically, David is fleeing 
from Saul. Saul is in pursuit. We saw last 
time when David was in the city of Keilah, and David spared the 
city, and then David was ultimately spared by the Philistines. Remember, 
at the end of chapter 23, Saul and his men were closing in on 
David, and in 2327 said, but a messenger came to Saul saying, 
hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land. Therefore, 
Saul returned from pursuing David and went against the Philistines, 
so they called that place the Rock of Escape. then David went 
up from there and dwelt in strongholds at Engedi." So God moves in a 
mysterious way his wonders to perform. He used the Philistines 
as the means by which David would be able to escape from the hand 
of Saul. In chapters 24, 25, and 26, we 
see more of David's virtue in terms of his eventual accession 
to the throne in Israel. In 24, 25, and 26, David does 
not act upon impulse to take vengeance on his enemies. In 
24 and 26, it's Saul. And in 25, it is Nabal. And what we continue to see in 
David, at least thus far, is that he is a man who waits on 
the Lord, a man who takes vengeance certainly does not wait on the 
Lord. He takes matters into his own hand, and that betrays a 
godliness and a righteousness. As well, David has a respect 
for the rule of law. God indeed had stationed Saul 
as the king, and Up until this point, or at this point, Saul 
had not been deposed from his throne. And if he would have 
killed him, this would have been regicide, the killing of a king. But David respects the rule of 
law. As well, he's not a vindictive 
man with reference to his own being. certainly cries out to 
God for God's vengeance and judgment upon the enemies of God. But 
David is exemplifying here and highlighting or showing forth 
various attributes or virtues that will certainly come in handy 
as he becomes king in Israel. So I just want to read chapter 
24 and then we'll look at the three sections and try to draw 
out some practical application along the way and at the end. Now it happened, when Saul had 
returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, 
Take note, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Then Saul took three 
thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David 
and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. So he came to the 
sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave, and Saul went 
in to attend to his needs. David and his men were staying 
in the recesses of the cave. Then the men of David said to 
him, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, behold, 
I will deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to 
him as it seems good to you. And David arose and secretly 
cut off a corner of Saul's robe. Now it happened afterward that 
David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. And he 
said to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this thing to 
my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against 
him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David restrained 
his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise 
against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave 
and went on his way. David also arose afterward, went 
out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, My lord, the 
king. And when Saul looked behind him, 
David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed down. And 
David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who 
say, Indeed, David seeks your harm? Look, this day your eyes 
have seen that the Lord delivered you today in my hand or into 
my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my 
eyes spared you, and I said, I will not stretch out my hand 
against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. Moreover, my 
father, see, yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For 
in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill 
you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion 
in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my 
life to take it. Let the Lord judge between you 
and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall 
not be against you. As the proverb of the ancient 
says, wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but my hand shall 
not be against you. After whom is the king of Israel 
come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? Therefore let the Lord 
be judge and judge between you and me and see and plead my case 
and deliver me out of your hand. So it was, when David had finished 
speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this your 
voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice 
and wept. Then he said to David, You are 
more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas 
I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how 
you have dealt well with me. For when the Lord delivered me 
into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, 
will he let him get away safely? Therefore, may the Lord reward 
you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now 
I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the 
kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore, swear 
now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants 
after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's 
house." So David swore to Saul, and Saul went home. But David 
and his men went up to the stronghold. Amen. Well, this is a highly 
charged and very intense chapter in scripture. Certainly, if we 
have been brought up on popular tales of revenge and getting 
back at our enemies, David's actions here certainly should 
surprise us. David is poised and in a key 
position to take care of Saul once and for all, but he doesn't. 
He gives place to the wrath of God, and that is something obviously 
commendable, as we will see as we move through the chapter. 
There are three sections that I want to look at. First, the 
confrontation at En-Gedi in verses 1 to 7. Secondly, the appeal 
to God's judgment in verses 8 to 15. And then the response by 
Saul in verses 16 to 22. So let's look first at the setting 
under the confrontation at En-Gedi. It says in verse 1, now it happened 
when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was 
told him saying, remember we have seen over and over again, 
Saul and David have quite a network, they hear about everything, without 
email, without phone, without text, without computer, without 
fax, without any of that, they are nevertheless kept abreast 
of each other's activities. The author doesn't tell us what 
happens to the battle with the Philistines. Remember back in 
2327. Hurry and come for the Philistines 
have invaded the land. Therefore Saul returned from 
pursuing David and went against the Philistines. The author doesn't 
give us the particulars there because the focus is upon Saul's 
pursuit of David. and how this all plays out. Notice 
that when Saul receives this particular message, he takes 
3,000 chosen men from all Israel. Certainly, if he's instructed 
that David is at Ein Gedi, then he's been instructed with how 
many men that David has. David has a total of 600. So 
Saul wants to neutralize this threat, he wants to decimate 
David, he wants to destroy all of these men so that he can rid 
the world of this man that is ultimately going to replace him 
on the throne. Now note verse 3, it says, He 
came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave, 
and Saul went in to attend to his needs. The new King James 
make something sound nice here by saying, attend to his needs. The literal is, he covered his 
feet, which is another nice way of saying that he evacuated his 
bowels. That is why Saul went into this 
particular cave And he probably had a nap afterwards, because 
what David does, certainly he had to find him at a position 
of disadvantage. So Saul goes in to cover his 
feet. It's a euphemism for going to 
the bathroom. That would be the activity. One 
would cover their feet as they went about their particular business. I'm not trying to be crude here, 
but this is in the text, and it sets up the particular occasion 
wherein David makes this successful approach upon Saul. And it is 
intriguing, as Vannoy points out, that David and Saul's roles 
were suddenly reversed for a short time. David, the fugitive, is 
unexpectedly given an opportunity to eliminate Saul, the pursuer. This is a classic case wherein 
the mouse has become the cat and the cat has become the mouse. 
Saul is at a position of great disadvantage and David and his 
men are not seen by Saul. There's a parenthetical note 
at the end of verse 3. David and his men were staying 
in the recesses of the cave. Now these are big caves. This 
isn't East Harrison. This isn't a little cave that 
you walk into and then you can't move so you come back out. These 
are big, massive caves that a lot of people can fit into. And so 
David and his men are in the back. Saul comes in haphazardly. No, we know that's not the case. 
It is in the providence of God. He comes in to relieve himself, 
probably takes a bit of a nap, and that then gives David the 
opportunity to make his approach to Saul. Now notice the particular 
plan that develops in verse 4. The men of David remind David 
that this is indeed the Lord's providence. You can almost hear 
them singing that song. This is the day the Lord has 
made. Listen, verse 4. Then the men 
of David said to him, This is the day of which the Lord said 
to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that 
you may do to him as it seems good to you." As far as they 
are concerned, they have just been handed a gift horse. They 
have been handed a basket with a ribbon tied on the top. Here 
is their arch enemy. Here is their nemesis. Here is 
their foe. He has relieved himself. He's 
now probably taking a nap. All that needs to be done is 
for David to take a knife, or a spear, or a sword, and cut 
Saul's head off. David can assume the throne, 
and the rest of Israel will live happily ever after. So the men 
remind David concerning Yahweh's plan here. But it's interesting, 
because up to this point in the scripture, it never tells us 
that this is God's plan. that he would kill David. That's 
never been specified. The men urged David to do to 
Saul as it seemed good to him. Now, most likely what these men 
were urging David to do was to kill Saul. I mean, doesn't that 
seem to follow? If you have a man that's hunting 
you like a dog, if you have that man in a position of disadvantage, 
if you can neutralize that threat, certainly David's men saw the 
wisdom in this particular proposal. David's men interpreted the providential 
appearance of Saul in their cave as a directive from the Lord 
to take Saul's life. They saw this providence of God 
and they made this particular conclusion. They made this particular 
implication. For these men, the providence 
of God was obvious. But as we continue in the narrative 
and we see David's response and we see the subsequent chapters, 
we know that this was a wrong implication. In other words, 
just because Saul was there and at a position of disadvantage, 
that does not mean that David should slay him. That does not 
mean that David should kill him. There is a lesson here for each 
and every one of us when it comes to the providence of God. We 
witness God's providence, but oftentimes it's difficult to 
make correct implications. Oftentimes it's very difficult 
to provide a good solid interpretation of the things that happened before 
our eyes. Listen to what Davis says. Was 
this a temptation or was this providence? And how does one 
discern the difference? It was a searching test for God's 
servant. Only the principle of the sanctity 
of God's anointed answers the dilemma. You see, for David, 
the way that you interpret providence is through the truth of God's 
word. See, this concerns me today because people want to interpret 
providence apart from the Word of God. Brethren, when you see 
something happen in your life that is providential, instead 
of trying to find a secret meaning or an implication that somehow 
benefits you, or it even seems to be a bit perplexing as to 
what you should do, do what you know to do, and that is obey 
God's Word. You see, these men were ready 
to push David to the point of killing the sitting king of Israel. That would certainly not look 
good for this particular man in subsequent ages. One of the 
things that David does have to ultimately fight against, I don't 
mean physically, But is this common perception that he was 
a usurper to the throne? If he'd have followed these men's 
lead, that would have been precisely what he would have been. Regicide, 
the death of a king, and now David sits upon the throne. Davis 
goes on to say, that was not so clear, seemingly, to David's 
men, the idea that God's anointed. must live. He says, for David, 
however, it was one thing to have the promise of the kingdom. 
David had that, didn't he? He knew that Samuel had anointed 
him in chapter 16. He knew that Jonathan wanted 
to give him his royal robes in chapter 18. He knew, according 
to chapters 20 and again in chapter 23, that he would ultimately 
be the king in Israel. David knew that, but what David 
did not know was the how. How will he make it to the throne? How the kingdom should come to 
him was another matter. God's will must be achieved in 
God's way. This is most crucial. The ends 
don't necessarily justify the means. Just because David is 
going to be the king does not give him the warrant to go out 
and kill the sitting king. Do you understand that? There's 
a lot going on in this particular section in terms of providence. 
And as I said, we'll visit this again toward the end. He says, 
God's will must be achieved in God's way. The end that God has 
ordained must be reached by the means that God approves. David's men do not see this. They claim to have God in their 
pocket and to know how he relates to this specific situation. We 
can't ever claim to have an infallible interpretation upon God's providence. The only thing that we can ever 
know for certain in terms of God's mind revealed to us is 
what the scripture says. There's a whole host of interesting 
things that happened today that we might... Try to read the Providence 
and try to make a decision on, and it may be the case that we 
are wrong. And that is simply unacceptable, 
brethren. We need to go according to the 
Word of the Living God. The secret things belong to the 
Lord our God. But the things that He has revealed 
to us vis-à-vis His Word are for us and our children. Deuteronomy 
29.29. So this whole idea of Providence 
and what these men saw as God's Providence was not necessarily 
the case in terms of how they should act upon it. It's a gift. 
Let's kill it. That was their decision. David 
says, wait a minute, slow down. Let's think through this. David 
is an admirable, wise, godly man in this particular instance. 
Notice what David does do, however, at the end of verse four. And 
David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe. For those who have been with 
us since chapter 15, you'll remember there is something symbolic about 
this particular activity. And the way that David feels 
remorse or regret after having done it seems to indicate that 
that was the symbolism that he attached to it as well. In 1 
Samuel 15, 27 and 28, Samuel turned around to go away, Saul 
seized the edge of his robe and it tore. So Samuel said to him, 
the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and 
has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. So in this instance, David cuts 
off a little bit of his skirt or a little bit of his robe at 
this particular instance. Now notice the remorse that David 
undergoes in verses 5 to 7. It says, now it happened afterward 
that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. 
You say, well, imagine how his heart would have troubled him 
if he would have cut Saul's head off. But you see, this is David, 
a man after God's own heart. There's symbolism involved in 
this cutting of the robe. David Samora says it may be that 
while David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe in order to prove 
that he did not try to kill Saul, even though he could have done 
so, He was later struck in the heart because he had cut off 
the skirt of Saul, for cutting off a corner of the hem was often 
taken as a symbol of disloyalty and rebellion in the second millennium." 
So you see, what does the king wear that is a token and a visible 
emblem of his power or authority or his right to rule. It is his 
royal robe. And for David to cut that royal 
robe, certainly later in verse 11 he can say, Saul, I could 
have killed you. But even at this small act, what 
we might consider to be an insignificant thing, David has regret here, 
David has remorse here, And David goes on to explain the reason 
why in verse 6. He said to his men, the Lord 
forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's 
anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the 
anointed of the Lord. David, thankfully, resisted the 
urge presented to him, or the temptation presented to him, 
by these men. Put yourself in this situation, 
as we've tried to do many times in our study of David. What must 
it have been like? I mean, David was a normal, regular 
guy minding his own business in Bethlehem raising sheep for 
his father. David then gets called to play 
music to try and soothe and calm Saul. He does a fine job at it. And then in chapter 17, David 
goes out and he beats the champion from Gath on the field of battle 
such that he's able to walk around with Goliath's massive head. And then from that point on, 
Saul is filled with rage and envy and malice toward David. 
And Saul has hunted David. Saul covertly tries to scheme 
so that David can be put to death by Philistines in chapter 18. 
Remember the plan? I'll marry him off to one of 
my daughters, to Michael, and he'll have to get a hundred foreskins. 
Certainly while he's in the process of getting those hundred foreskins, 
one of those men who own the hundred foreskins is going to 
kill David and not allow him to do such things. By chapter 
19, it becomes over. He tells Jonathan, and he tells 
his servants, we need to exterminate David. And then he throws spears 
at David, and he goes to his house, and then he chases him 
all the way to Naoth and Ramah, where Samuel lives. You see, 
every step of the way in David's life has been filled with tragedy, 
and trial, and misery, and difficulty. And now Saul's laying there, 
probably asleep, and David has the perfect opportunity to kill 
him. But he fears God. He doesn't love his own position, 
he doesn't love his own safety, he doesn't love his own stability, 
he doesn't love his own privilege or prerogative that is going 
to be his. He loves God Almighty and God Almighty has said, do 
not touch my anointed. Now, we need to understand what's 
involved here. Vannoy tells us, in ancient Israel, 
the Anointed One, this is literally the Messiah, the Messiah of Yahweh, 
in ancient Israel, the Anointed One, whether priest or king, 
stood in the place of God before His people. So what does that 
mean? To attack an anointed one meant what? It meant to attack 
God Himself. So David, being pressed by the 
men, cuts off the robe, and then David gets upset or feels regret, 
even having done that, And then he underscores the reality in 
verse 6. He says, the Lord forbid that 
I should do this thing to my master. The Lord's anointed to 
stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of 
the Lord. You see, that's what you want in a king. He respects 
the rule of law. That's what you want in a king. 
He fears the God who has given that law. You want in a king 
a man who shows that sort of fidelity even when it costs him. Because if David would have put 
the knife into Saul, David's life, at least temporally and 
humanly speaking, would have been zippity-doo-dah. They could 
have left the caves of En-Gedi. They could have gone back to 
wherever they wanted to go. They would be happy and whole 
and healthy. But David is not going to lay 
his hand upon God's anointed. Now notice what verse 7 indicates. So David restrained his servants 
with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. 
And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. This is 
literally David tore apart his servants with these words. The 
servants probably didn't just say, OK, David, we see. They 
were probably saying, David, we need to take care of business. 
David, we need to deal with Saul. David, do you understand that 
gifts like these don't happen often? I mean, the fellow has 
come in here to relieve himself. He's gone to sleep. and you have 
perfect access to his neck, to disenfranchise his head from 
his body? David, do you not get the implications 
here? This is of God, the Lord has 
delivered him into your... They're battling, brethren. And 
David has to tear them apart with these words to keep them 
at bay. Davis again says, the Hebrew 
text reads, so David, tore apart his men with the words, suggesting 
that David had to resort to violent and threatening language to cool 
their blood. The scene is tense. You can hear 
it. You can hear these servants. 
Are you crazy? We can kill him now. And David 
says, I am not going to touch the Lord's anointed. Remember 
who the bulk of these men with David are. They're men from the 
cave of Adullam. These were the disenfranchised 
themselves. They were the discontent. They 
were rabble-rousers. They were men that were basically 
marginalized from society. They probably didn't have a whole 
lot of respect for the sitting king of Israel. I mean, that's 
probably why they're holed up in the cave of Adullam. So they're 
back and forth with David, and David's back and forth with them, 
saying, we are not going to do this because he's Yahweh's anointed. 
You can hear them say, but Yahweh's anointed has tried to kill you, 
David. Yahweh's anointed has treated 
you like a dog, like a fugitive. Yahweh's anointed has forced 
you into this place in En Gedi, where you've had to flee and 
hide. And David, nevertheless, is restraining them. Davis goes 
on to say, many commentators in seemingly some ancient versions 
think the word is too strong. But I do not see why. It is the 
writer's very point. David had to tear them up or 
cut them down with his words in order to prevent the spilling 
of Saul's blood. That's what was at stake. And 
then Davis says, meanwhile, Saul gets up and goes his way, oblivious 
to the fact that his premier enemy had just saved his skin. 
It truly is amazing, right? The mouse has saved the cat in 
this particular illustration. So Saul goes and David then addresses 
him. And that brings us, secondly, 
to the appeal to God's judgment. Notice in the first place David's 
question. In verse 8, David also arose 
afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, 
My lord the king. Notice the respect. Notice the 
reverence. Notice, brethren, I think this 
is a great lesson for me. I notice when there's ungodly 
or unrighteous political leaders, I'm not always as respectful 
toward them, at least in my thoughts, as I ought to be. And yet David, 
being hunted by Saul, says, my lord the king. Now notice, and 
when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to 
the earth and bowed down. David's the real deal. David 
is a model here in terms of what Christian sanctification looks 
like. He's a godly, faithful, righteous 
man. Now note his question. It says, 
and David said to Saul in verse 9, why do you listen to the words 
of men who say, indeed, David seeks your harm? Notice that 
David assumes, or he has the benefit of the doubt in this 
instance. Do we read anywhere in the preceding 
narrative that any man is telling Saul something ill about David? I mean, Doeg the Edomite says, 
I saw him at Nob. I saw him there. He was, you 
know, getting food and he was getting weapons. There was a 
bit of an implication by Doeg placed on this report. But nobody's 
been whispering in the ear of Saul. David's out for you. David 
wants to get you. David wants to take your throne. 
This is all of Saul, and yet how David, with the benefit of 
the doubt, he assumes, or he says, why do you listen to the 
words of men who say, indeed, David seeks your harm? And note 
the irony. He assumes that Saul has men 
that are whispering in his ear to go and pursue David. That's 
not the case. Saul is just doing it all on 
his own. David legitimately does have 
men who have urged him to destroy Saul in the preceding section. And David's resisted them. David's 
done what's right. David hasn't taken matters into 
his own hand, and David hasn't gone based on emotion or experience 
or feeling, but rather he goes based on the truth of God's Word. 
that you touch not the Lord's anointed. Now notice the situation. David had a very blessed opportunity. Notice in verse 10. Look, this 
day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today 
into my hand in the cave. David does not discount the providence 
of God. See, both David and the men of 
David recognized that Saul's being in that cave at that time 
was the providence of God. The implications drawn from that 
event significantly differ. The men of David said, kill him. 
David said, no, I'm not going to touch the Lord's anointed. 
But David is here telling Saul what actually transpired. So 
this day your eyes have seen, verse 10, that the Lord delivered 
you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to 
kill you. But my eyes spared you, and I 
said, I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for 
he is the Lord's anointed." I wonder how David was saying this. I don't think it was just David's probably impassioned 
here. He's still blown away that he's got to run from Saul. Remember 
in chapter 20, when David comes to Jonathan, he says, what have 
I done? Why is your father hunting me? 
Why does your Father want to destroy me? There is that puzzlement 
going on in the mind and heart of David. He's probably got an 
impassioned plea here. My eyes spared you when I said, 
I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for He is the 
Lord's anointed. And it's interesting, back in 
2314, remember we read that Saul sought David every day, but God 
did not deliver him into His hand. Soon as we get to David 
in the cave and in Getty, what does God do? He delivers Saul 
into David's hand. David is showing Saul these things. 
David is underscoring these things for Saul. David is highlighting 
the reality that Saul is in a bad predicament. And then notice, 
Verse 11, he says, Moreover, my father, see, yes, see the 
corner of your robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the corner 
of your robe and did not kill you, no one see that there is 
neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned 
against you, yet you hunt my life to take it. You know, we 
oftentimes think we have problems, don't we? We do. We've got big bad trials 
and difficulties and problems. Are you living in a cave and 
in Getty being hunted by Saul for nothing? I mean, most of 
the things that people have against us, they probably have good reason. 
David was innocent, and this is what he underscores here. 
I cut off the corner of your rope. I did not kill you. No 
one see there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and 
I have not sinned against you, yet you hunt my life to take 
it. Now notice David's appeal. David's appeal, and this is brilliant, 
it's threefold. First, he highlights his innocence. 
Secondly, his insignificance. And thirdly, his insistence. 
Notice the innocence of David in verse 13. As the proverb of 
the ancient says, wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but 
my hand shall not be against you. What's the point? I have 
not done wicked against you, therefore I'm not wicked. I'm 
innocent. Not completely. David knew about 
the doctrine of total depravity. He wrote Psalm 51. He understands 
biblical Calvinism. But David, in terms of his relationship 
to Saul, is innocent. David is righteous. He has done 
the right thing. every step of the way up to this 
point. And this is what he pleads, his 
innocence before Saul. Notice his insignificance. Verse 14, After whom has the 
king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? 
David's saying, I'm nothing. I'm small potatoes. I am not 
a threat. I'm not a menace. I'm not a usurper. I'm not going to attack you. 
I'm not going to go for your throat. I'm not going to try 
to take the throne away. And then he goes on to underscore 
this. And he says, a dead dog, a single 
flea, that's how insignificant David is. Maybe he's thinking, 
why don't you go deal with Philistines? Actually, this is what I'd be 
thinking. David's godly and we don't find this to be the case. 
But I'd be like, why are you looking for me, this dead dog 
in a flea, when we've got to deal with Philistines? You've 
got to deal with inner turmoil within Israel. You've got to 
try and minister and breach up some issues and deal with the 
economy or deal with your foreign policy. Why are you spending 
this inordinate amount of time on a dead dog in a single flea? 
What's the problem? So David's innocence, David's 
insignificance, but notice David's insistence. We find this in verses 
12 and 15. For David, vengeance is mine, 
says the Lord. David is not going to take his 
hand against, or raise his hand against the Lord's anointed, 
But that does not mean that David is just going to lie down and 
play dead. Notice in verse 12, we have something 
of a petition, and verse 15 is something of a declaration. Verse 
12, let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord 
avenge me on you. but my hand shall not be against 
you." You see what David does there? He is in perfect accord 
with Romans 12.19. You say, well, Romans 12.19 hadn't 
been written yet, but Deuteronomy had been written, and that's 
what Paul is quoting. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the 
Lord. Paul tells the people of God 
in Rome, beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but give place to 
the wrath of God. You see that? So Christians today 
miss that, don't we? We are not to take vengeance 
on others. I'd say all Christians at least 
have a rudimentary understanding of that. We fail on the give 
place to wrath part. Now, when Paul says that, Paul 
means that, and David exemplifies that in this position. David 
is not going to raise knife against Saul, but as a result, or not 
as a result, but David does not then conclude, no wrath, no judgment, 
no justice should fall upon Saul. That's not what he concludes. 
He says just the opposite. Let the Lord avenge me on you. He's giving place to the wrath 
of God. You see, that is legitimate and 
that is consistent in the lives of God's people. We are to pray 
to God to take vengeance on his enemies. Again, something that 
I think the church, in many respects, misses in our day-to-day lives. Now, I'm not saying pray to God 
to pour out vengeance on the person who cut you off on Wellington, 
because that would be a long, all-day prayer. Convinced there's 
a stop sign out here that is invisible, because nobody stops 
there. If I prayed all day for people, you know, God to judge 
those who roll through that stop sign, I could just live there. 
No, it's the enemies of God. David is praying biblically. This is something that we need 
to understand. David does not take vengeance 
into his own hand, but when we do not take vengeance into our 
own hand, that does not mean no vengeance. It just means the 
vengeance belongs to the one who is most excellent and most 
holy and most just and most wise in the execution of that vengeance. And that's what David does in 
this instance. Now notice, Verse 15, Therefore 
let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see, 
and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand. Notice that 
this is, in many respects, David's appeal to Saul. But David isn't 
trusting that Saul is going to receive it. David does not put 
his well-being into the hand of Saul. David does not say, 
I'm so sure that you're going to understand my argument in 
terms of my innocence and insignificance that you're going to just extend 
the right hand of fellowship and welcome me into the royal 
court again. David doesn't believe that for a moment. David understands 
that ultimate vindication and that ultimate safety belongs 
to God Most High. So David entrusts himself to 
Yahweh and not to Saul. David, as it were, is simply 
rehearsing to Saul the reality of the situation as it had developed 
at En Gedi. There doesn't seem to be in David 
a great deal of confidence that Saul is going to repent and forsake 
and get things right. Now certainly if Saul did repent 
and forsake and get things right, knowing David as I think we know 
David, he'd probably forgive him and they would live happily 
ever after. But you see, David's safety in 
times of trial, as we've seen many times, is in God alone. 
It's not in Saul. It's not in David's ability to 
argue. It's not in David's great rational 
argument. I'm innocent. I'm insignificant. 
If Saul would have taken up the spear to throw at him in that 
point, David couldn't have said, well, wait a minute. My argument 
was so solid. It was so foolproof. That's not 
what David hinges his safety on. It's not his argument, it's 
not Saul's repentance, it's God Most High who will ultimately 
vindicate his servant from this attack by Saul. Now notice, in 
the third and final place, the response by Saul. We saw remorse 
or regret in David. when David was caught to the 
heart because, or his heart was troubled because he had cut Saul's 
rope in verse 5. In my notes I have the remorse 
of Saul. I do not believe for a moment 
that Saul is legitimate, because as soon as we get past the Nabal 
incident into chapter 26, those wretched Ziphites again give 
David up into the hand of Saul. The Ziphites are certainly pesky. 
We met them in 23. And they really had an axe to 
grind against David. Or they were just trying to curry 
favor with Saul. But Saul's back at it again in 
chapter 26. That's the second time that David 
spares Saul's wife. Do you hear that? The second 
time David spares Saul's wife. life. David is a long-suffering 
man. David is a patient man. David 
understands that justice and vengeance ultimately belong to 
the Lord our God. Notice, in 16, the remorse of 
Saul. So it was, when David had finished 
speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this your 
voice, my son David? This is one of those sections 
where I just say, Please! Come on, Saul, no one is buying. Nobody's picking up what you're 
putting down. All throughout the narrative, 
David has been the son of Jesse. All throughout the narrative, 
Saul has kept David at a distance. He's the son of Jesse. And now 
he's my son, David. And Saul lifted up his voice 
and wept. David Samura says, after this 
long speech by David, Saul responds to him with tears, which he probably 
sheds from self-pity rather than repentance. Gil says, and Saul 
lifted up his voice and wept, being affected with the kindness 
of David to him and with his deliverance from the danger he 
was in. And yet without true repentance 
of his sins, for there may be many tears shed where there is 
no real repentance, as in the case of Esau. Don't let Saul's 
tears blind you to the reality that the man is still a brutal 
tyrant. that the man has been caught 
and found out. The man has been bested. Certainly 
this would have proved an embarrassment if Saul would have been hanging 
with other kings or even with his men. You mean they got so 
close to you that they could have killed you and yet they 
spared you? This would be an embarrassing 
episode for a king, I suspect. And so Saul here has been found 
out. And notice what he goes on to 
say. He acknowledges what David has said. Verse 17, Then he said 
to David, You are more righteous than I. He's only telling us 
what we already know and that he doesn't believe even as he's 
spewing it forth. You are more righteous than I, 
for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded 
you with evil." I mean, really? Are we following this? Are we 
like, oh wow, this is great! No, Saul is a wretch! Saul is gone, brethren! We saw Saul check out in chapter 
16, when God departed, when the Lord departed, and He sends the 
distressing Spirit from the Lord to trouble him. It has been constant 
judgment by God upon Saul all the way. And so Saul goes on 
to say, verse 18, you have shown this day how you have dealt well 
with me. For when the Lord delivered me 
into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, 
will he let him get away safely? You know, he's even preaching 
and teaching in all of this. It's just, I mean, just amazing. 
Yeah, he's got to remind us that how great and noble David is. 
David knows exactly what's going on. David has done what David's 
done. Notice verse 19 at the end, Therefore 
may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to 
me this day. That's probably ringing as hollow 
as the benediction in 2321. Remember in 2321 to those wretched 
Ziphites, Saul said, Blessed are you of the Lord, for you 
have compassion on me. If you are being pronounced or 
you are receiving a benediction from Saul, you're probably in 
a bad state. Well, not necessarily. David's 
in a good state, but you gotta realize that that benediction 
doesn't mean anything. Saul just doesn't have the magic 
anymore, as it were. Not that there's magic in benediction, 
but you know what I mean. And now notice in verses 20 and 
21. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and 
that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 
Now, this is packaged with self-pitying Saul. But this is true, isn't 
it? Verse 20. This is true. Saul knew enough, at least in 
chapter 15, to realize that God was taking the kingdom from him 
and giving it to someone better than you. That's what he says 
in 1 Samuel chapter 15. Saul knew the score. Jonathan 
has told David that my father knows that you will be king. 
So look at this. In the midst of all this blathering 
by Saul, there is this nugget of truth that finds its way in 
here that will no doubt encourage David. Again, David has seen 
glimpses and glimmers of this idea that he is going to be the 
king in Israel. He's heard Jonathan say it. He's 
seen Jonathan demonstrate it by giving him his royal robes. 
But there's been no coronation ceremony. Remember, he was anointed 
in chapter 16, but as soon as he was anointed, life took a 
spin for the worse. There's not been people praising 
David, putting crowns on David, putting robes on David. So you 
see, even in the midst of this, God has a choice word for his 
servant. This is a word of affirmation, 
a word of encouragement, a word that would indeed help David. 
Now I know indeed that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom 
of Israel shall be established in your hand." The confirmation 
of God's word comes through David's enemy. The truth of the statement 
doesn't depend upon the moral character of the messenger. We 
just sang it. God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. If God can speak truth through 
Balaam's ass, if God can speak truth through Caiaphas the high 
priest, if God can speak truth through men that have moral blemish, 
it is nevertheless the case, truth. And this was a means to 
encourage David in his pursuit, or his life with reference to 
Saul. And now notice, 21 and 20. Saul 
does what Jonathan did. In chapter 20, remember that 
Jonathan, when he covenants with David, says, spare my house. Spare my house. Remember that? 
Because Jonathan knew that when a king became king, his first 
order of business was to kill the other king's family. That's 
just the way it was done. You didn't email. You didn't 
clean the Oval Office. Go to your new bowling alley. 
I've heard there was one in the White House. I don't know if 
there's still one. But you killed the other family. It's just what 
kings did. So Jonathan asked that you spare 
my family. Notice what Saul does in verse 
21. Therefore, swear now to me by the Lord that you will not 
cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy 
my name from my father's house. So David swore to Saul. Incredible. Incredible! David was a man of God. David 
didn't touch the Lord's anointed and David even covenants to spare 
the Lord's anointed's family. Truly is an amazing man. Well, 
a couple of things that we ought to appreciate before we close. 
In the first place, David's accession to the throne. I mentioned in 
the introduction, he waits on the Lord. That's evident throughout 
the passage. David waits on God. He doesn't 
take matters into his own hand. He doesn't go out and take vengeance 
on his personal enemies, and he has respect for the rule of 
law. In many ways, what we have in 24, 25, and 26 is something 
of the moral character and virtue of David. Now, unfortunately 
in 27, he goes and hangs out with the Philistines. We'll get 
to that later. But in 24, 25, and 26, he's not 
a blood-crazed or a death-crazed man that is 
seeking to eliminate anybody that gets in his way. And in 
the second place, I said we'd revisit that idea of providence 
in verse 4. The men of David said to him, 
this is the day of which the Lord said to you, behold, I will 
deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to him as 
it seems good to you. The fact of God's providence, 
we all see it, we all witness it, but it's the implications 
that we draw that we need to be careful. And Robert Vannoy 
makes this very helpful application to the Christian church. He says, 
there is much in the chain of events to ponder. David's men 
appealed to a surprising event as a sign that it was the Lord's 
will for them to do something they decided to do. A scenario 
familiar to most Christians, isn't it? You ever met that Christian? Wow, this happened, and now I 
know what the Lord wants for me. It's hard to challenge that, 
isn't it? When somebody knows what the 
Lord wants for them, if you suggest otherwise, well, you're trying 
to block up the Lord's will and the Lord's work, the Lord's process. He gave me a sign. Are you sure 
that that sign was to yield that implication? You see, this happens, 
brothers and sisters, probably far more than we'd like to even 
admit. We are not to be governed by 
our experience, by our emotional response, or by those things 
that are most advantageous to us. We need to be very careful 
treading into the interpretation of God's providence. You might 
be walking home and see something and say, wow, now I know that 
the Lord would have me to do that. Have you ever operated 
that way and then you did it and it was really stupid and 
foolish? Has anybody ever drawn an implication from a providential 
happening and then ended up doing something stupid and foolish? 
I think we probably all have. Can we say with exactitude that, 
yes, I know, that's what the Lord would have for me. We need 
to be careful. Vanhoy goes on to say, it is 
often difficult to argue with someone who says that in the 
view of certain circumstances, the Lord has led them to do such 
and such. But today, just as in this narrative, 
one must be exceedingly careful with an argument that uses divine 
providence as an equivalent for divine mandate. mandate is command, 
you see. He goes on to say, one should 
always be mindful that it is never possible to infallibly 
interpret God's providence. For example, Saul clearly misread 
divine providence, remember? In chapter 23, when he heard 
that David was in Keilah, how did Saul interpret that providential 
event? Well, the Lord has delivered 
him into my hand because he's in a fortified city. I will go 
in and I will take care of business. You see, Saul saw providence 
and then he made an incorrect implication. He goes on to say, 
Vannoy, we should guard against similar sorts of speculative 
tendencies in our own living and focus more on obeying the 
clear commands of God. You know, we all want to know, 
what is God's will for my life? It's right here. What would God 
have me to do? Read your Bible. What does God 
want from study scripture? It is the command of God that 
serves as the marching orders from God to God's people. And we need to understand that. 
Now, I'm not suggesting that when we see an act of providence, 
We can't mull it over and with wisdom and surveying scripture 
and doing those. I mean, that's what we're called 
to do. There are providential occurrences in our lives, but 
there's no secret hidden meaning. There's no fortune cookie that 
drops out onto the path of accretion. We snap it open and take the 
particular position of it and then do whatever we want. That's 
just not biblical. God has spoken to us, and our 
task is to obey the written word. That is an emphasis that I think 
needs to be sounded forth in Zion. In the third place, the 
place of vengeance. I've already touched on this, 
but I want to flesh it out just a little bit more. David obeyed 
Romans 12, 19. He did not avenge himself. but 
he gave place to God's wrath. Look how David gives place to 
God's wrath. Go to Psalm 54. I'm not suggesting 
David wrote these particular Psalms at this particular time, 
but I am suggesting that these particular Psalms give us a flavor 
of how David prayed in these kinds of times, okay? Everybody 
with me? This whole idea. Paul actually 
says, do not avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. If we were to hear David praying 
these, we might be offended. If David, in a prayer meeting, 
actually started to pray like this, some of us might get squeamish 
and say, can he do that? Can he really say that? Is that 
okay? How else would David give place 
to the wrath of God without calling upon God? You know, sometimes 
people say, you know, with these Planned Parenthood videos, and 
I understand they're hard to watch, but I've heard people 
say, I can't watch them. They're too terrible. I get that. I sympathize to a certain degree. 
But I make myself watch them so that I'll pray like David. 
Because you see, when you see these sorts of things, what is 
the proper response? We need to give place to the 
wrath of God. I'm not holding myself out as 
a model, do what I... No, I'm just saying, this is 
a means by which the Psalms become precious to the people of God. 
Notice in Psalm 54, verse 4, Behold, God is my helper. The 
Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies 
for their evil. Cut them off in your truth. Notice in Psalm 58. Psalm 58, 
beginning in verse 6. Break their teeth in their mouth, 
O God. Break out the fangs of the young 
lions, O Lord. Psalm 109, David actually prays 
that his enemies become beggars. In the Trinity Psalter, we don't 
ever sing that psalm, but it says, may strangers steal his 
hard-earned cash. When the boys were little, we 
used to sing that song. We'd think about abortion. We'd 
think about abortionists. We'd think about things like 
Planned Parenthood. And we would sing that song and 
dedicate it to those monsters. And I remember the boys always 
being taken up with that particular phrase. May strangers steal their 
hard-earned cash. That's how David prayed. But 
back to 58. Notice in 58.6. Break their teeth in their mouth, 
O God. Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord. So David's 
in our prayer meeting and this is him. This is how he's going. 
Let them flow away as waters which run continually when he 
bends his bow. Let his arrows be as if cut in 
pieces. Let them be like a snail which 
melts away as it goes. Like a stillborn child of a woman 
that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the 
burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, 
as in His living and burning wrath. The righteous shall rejoice 
when He sees the vengeance. He shall wash His feet in the 
blood of the wicked, so that men will say, Surely there is 
a reward for the righteous. Surely he is God who judges in 
the earth. Now, probably at this time, the 
elders would be escorting David out of the prayer meeting into 
the office and saying, how in the world can you pray like that? 
Because Paul, the apostle, tells me to give place to the wrath 
of God. And how better to give place 
to the wrath of God than in prayer. You see, perhaps Planned Parenthood 
and the abortion industry continues on unaffected because the Christian 
church never asked God to break their fangs. The Christian church 
never asked God to stop them in their murderous rage. The 
Christian church says, defund Planned Parenthood rather than 
destroy Planned Parenthood to the Living God. We're calling 
upon the government to defund a wicked organization rather 
than calling on the Living God to destroy a wicked organization. Now again, this isn't your enemies 
on Wellington, this is the enemies of Yahweh. This is the means 
by which, or a means by which, we give place to God's wrath. Davis says, if Yahweh's crushed 
and afflicted people cannot place their case in His hands and expect 
Him to bring just vengeance in their behalf, what hope can they 
have? Only a God who rights the wrongs 
of the inflicted on his people can be their well-proved help 
in troubles. Who can blame them if their cries 
are wrapped in emotion? We commit vengeance to Yahweh. 
We commit vengeance to Yahweh. Amen. Brethren, that is something 
that David teaches us very clearly. And then one final application 
is the typical significance of David. We have seen this over 
and over again as we study David. We ought to make that legitimate 
leap between David and David's greater son. A similar instance 
occurs in Jesus' accession to the throne. It is presented to 
him by the devil. In Matthew 4, verse 8, again 
the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him 
all the kingdoms of the world in their glory. And he said to 
him, all these things I will give you if you will fall down 
and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Away 
with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your 
God, and Him only you shall serve. David was destined for the throne. David's men urged him to take 
a shortcut. David's men urged him to kill 
Saul so that he could take the throne. We get to the wilderness 
with David's greater son. This greater son is destined 
for the throne. The devil comes and urges him 
to take a shortcut. The devil comes and tells him, 
take matters into your own hand and take possession of the throne. 
But in both cases they commit themselves to God Almighty. In both cases, it's not only 
the what, the throne, but it's the how, God's means. And for David, that meant being 
hunted like a dog. For Jesus, that meant the humiliation 
of the cross. So David is functioning typically 
here in chapter 24 of 1 Samuel of his greater son that is going 
to exceed the throne. He is going to sit upon the throne, 
but it's not going to be through the bloodshed that so many would 
expect. Messiah will come and destroy 
all of his enemies and set up his earthly kingdom. There would 
be bloodshed, but in this instance it would be the Messiah's And 
that would be the means by which he would assume the throne. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
the Word of God and we thank You for its clarity for us. I pray that You would help us, 
Lord, to receive these things and help us to learn from 1 Samuel, 
help us to learn from the life of David. Certainly there are 
many lessons in this passage that are instructive, not least 
of which is David's attitude and David's ability to resign 
himself to the will of God and to be patient and to realize 
that You would undertake on his behalf. I ask now that you would 
go with us and watch over us, grant us grace to glorify and 
honor you, and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.