David Leaves Vengeance to the Lord

Transcript

GRS 2-72
6/10/2007
David Leaves Vengeance to the Lord
1 Samuel 24-26
Gil Rugh

We are working our way through the history of Israel in the Old Testament. And we are in First Samuel Chapter 24, so if turn there in your Bibles, First Samuel, a large portion of it about the reign of Saul, but the focal point in most of that reign is the activity of David. Even though he is not yet king, he has been anointed by Samuel, the Spirit of God has come upon him in power, but it’s not yet God’s time for him to assume the throne. These are difficult years for David, but they are years of preparations in the plan of God. Chapters 24, 25, and 26 all have the same central theme and that is David leaving vengeance on his enemies to the Lord, not taking vengeance when the opportunity is there, that will be seen with Saul in Chapter 24, and Chapter 26 and then God will intervene using a very special woman to keep David from taking his own vengeance in Chapter 25. All of this in preparation for David to be God's man, the man after God's own heart to rule over the people of God.

Chapter 24 talks about how David when given opportunity to kill Saul, spares his life and recognize this as the sovereign hand of God, who must determine when it is the time for Saul to be removed and sometimes, even when an opportunity presents itself and you might think well, this is the Lord providing the opportunity. David is not willing to step in and take matters into his own hands, but is willing to wait for the Lord to do it the way he would choose.

Chapter 23 and did you remember with David having a narrow escape from Saul, then the Philistines come in to attack Israel and it’s about the time that Saul is ready to close in on David in the wilderness of Ziph. He receives word that he has to bring the armies of Israel back to fight the Philistines, so he breaks off the pursuit of David.

Then Chapter 24 opens up, now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi." Evidently Saul was successful in turning back the Philistines. Now he persuades his relentless attempt to kill David. It is a consuming passion of Saul to destroy David. Saul knows that God has designated David to be the next king of Israel.

Back in Chapter 23 verse 17, Jonathan Saul’s son told David, you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; Saul my father knows that also in fact as we go through these Chapters, we are going to find it is generally known throughout Israel that David is the next king and this puts a great pressure on Saul because he thinks if he can kill David he can frustrate that plan and maintain his hold on the throne and his family line if you will. First three verses, now we read the first, we will look at verse 2, Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

These designated places within these regions that would have been known by the people of the day. He came to the sheepfolds on the way where there was a cave; Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave, Engedi where David is at wilderness of Engedi, he is on the western shore of the Dead Sea and has two-thirds of the way down. The Dead Sea on the western side is a place where there are many caves, a rugged area, so a great place for hiding and this is where David has taken refuge, the sovereign hand of God in everything. David and his men are hiding in a cave that happens to be the cave that Saul chooses to go and use as a bathroom. We would just put it the way it is, now you have an opportunity. Verse 4, the men of David said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'". David's man hidden in this inner recesses of the cave, here is Saul, his armies are out away, easy now for them to step up and kill Saul and David's men presented as here is the fulfillment of what the Lord has promised, You are to be king, Saul is rejected, how much more clear could it be that it is Saul's time to die and your time to rule?

David sneaks up and the robe has been set aside, he cuts off a portion of that robe, the end of verse 4, it came about in verse 5 that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe. He did not kill him, but he cut off the edge of the robe, but his conscience bothers him, because in this act he was showing disrespect for Saul. It was an act of humiliation for Saul that be so treated and even that act bothers David's conscience.

Look at verse, he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord. Referring to Saul as my lord, the Lord’s anointed. If Saul was the Lord's anointed, then he is David's lord and the one that I should show all respect and all honor to. To stretch out my hand against him since he is the Lord's anointed, you see David has this fixed on his mind, He is the Lord's anointed, The Lord sent him up and only the Lord can remove him, and I don’t want to do anything to dishonor him because as long as he sits from the throne, he is the Lord's anointed. He is worthy of my respect and he is worthy of being honored by me. Saul the man who was here because he is on relentless pursuit of David with the intention of killing him, David knowing that he has been anointed by Samuel to be the next King of Israel, none of these changes or gives David the right to take things into his own hands here. Even when it seems the Lord has opened the door of opportunity.

Verse 7, David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. You see here, David's men are pretty intense on using this opportunity. I mean these men were being hiding for their lives, living in rugged areas and now the man who desires to destroy them has been delivered into their hands. He is here defenseless without his soldiers, without his weapons, but David takes his stand and prevents his men from doing what they would like to do. So Saul gets up and leaves the cave. After he leaves, David comes out when enough distance is there and hovers to him, verse 8 afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked toward him, David bowed with his face towards the ground and prostrated himself. And David is a remarkable man, to show this kind of attitude and respect towards a man who demonstrated godless character, but he is the Lord's anointed.

David said to the Saul, why do you listen to the words of men saying behold David seeks to harm you, behold this day, your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you and I said I will not stretch out my hand against, my lord for he is the Lord's anointed. Now my father see; indeed the edge of your robe in my hand, for in that I cut off the edge of your robe, and did not kill you, no one perceive there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you though you are lying in wait with the intension to kill me.

David continues, I am willing to live my life in the Lord's hand. May the Lord judge between you and me. May be the Lord avenge me on you, but my hands shall not be against you, as the proverb of the ancient says out of the wicked come forth wickedness, but my hands shall not me against you. In other words, Saul's actions are not going to move David to do the wrong thing. Out of the wicked come forth wickedness. If David would move to do the wrong thing because of the wicked actions of Saul, he would be just be demonstrating that he is a wicked character too. Another person's wickedness is never excuse for me to do wickedness, is it? Another persons' sin never becomes an excuse that it’s alright for me to sin and David has a good grasp on that. No matter what Saul does, David does not have the right then to act wrongly, to do wickedness.

Then you see the humility of David, verse 14, "After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? I am nothing, I am insignificant. Why would you the king of Israel move the armies of Israel to go search for a dead dog? A single flee? I mean it should be beneath you. I see genuine humility here in David's eye. Whatever he will be, he will be by the grace of God. But that does not make him some great person right now. So you are the anointed king, why would you be out in this barren wilderness, wasteful land looking after someone who is nothing? May the Lord therefore be judge and decide between you and me. May he see and plead my case and deliver me from your hand. Well it’s often true of people who don’t have a true and living relationship with the Lord, they are just swept along by the emotion of the moment and that happens to Saul here, he is overwhelmed with the emotion of the moment that his life has been spared, he has been on the edge of destruction. David had not restrained his men, Saul would just be a corpse in the cave right now and he is moved emotionally by this. So when David finished speaking these word's to Saul, Saul said, is this your voice my son David? Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David you are more righteous than I, you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you. You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me for if a man finds his enemy, will you let him go away safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. So Saul is moved by what has taken place.

And now note verse 20, "Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king” as Jonathan said earlier, my father knows you are going to be the king. Here, Saul himself confesses to that truth. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand and so what he does is ask David for mercy, when he is king, spare my family, swear to me that you will not cut off my descendants after me, not destroy my name from my father's house hold, in other words Saul realizes when David becomes the king, he could exercise his authority to annihilate all of Saul's descendants and that was done, as we are well aware in the ancient world, you remove all trace of your predecessor and any of who could eventually become your rival.

David swears to Saul, now note this, Saul went to his home David and his men went to the stronghold. David is well aware of the character of Saul, it seems like a genuine repentance here, but it’s not and we take a Chapter now that will turn our attention in a little different direction, then we come back to Chapter 26, will find out it’s the same old Saul on the same old pursuit. The emotion of the moment is gone. He is back to being what he really is. But Chapter 25, an interesting account in the life of David and it will fit the same line, here in Chapter 24 David refused to take vengeance on Saul. In Chapter 25, David is ready to take vengeance on his enemy, but God intervene in the person of a godly woman and David is grateful that he has not followed through on what he intended.

The Chapter opens up with an important marker, then Samuel died, that marks the end of an era. Samuel, remember was the last judge of Israel, he formed the transition, he was the last judge and as prophet and priest he anointed the first king Saul, and he also anointed the second king, David. He has been a mighty figure in Israel for many years. Now he passes from the scene and there is a time of great mourning. David continues to live in the wilderness. Now we are introduced to totally new people, but it gives you a glimpse into what is going on and brings the woman into the picture who will become one of David's wife and again as I mentioned it shows how David is prevented from taking his own vengeance.

There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; the man was very rich, had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. It came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel and the man's name was Nabal. A word that means fool that we will later people will say he was aptly named. His wife's name was Abigail the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, he was a Calebite, a descendant of Caleb. A great man, but being the descendant of a great man doesn’t mean you will be great and this man is harsh and evil. He has got vast wealth and he has a godly wife, an intelligent wife, a beautiful wife and you would think here is this special woman, that’s what we see as we move through the account and living as the wife of a person that no one respects. He is of the kind of character that even his servants testify that he is a worthless man, but she shows remarkable grace and character through this entire account. So we pick up verse 3, this one is on parenthesis, it came about he was shearing his sheep in Carmel, in verse 4, that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten men and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, visit Nabal and you give him this very gracious greeting and you remind him that, we have been here 600 armed men and yet they serve to be the protectors of Nabal's flocks, the protectors of Nabal's servants out there, the shepherds. Then all of this, we have been careful not to take anything that belonged to you and now we would ask that you give us some provisions and this is a valid request. We will see later the servants of Nabal, think it was a very valid and acceptable thing to ask for in light of what David's men had done for them. Just a matter of providing some provisions for these men who has been so gracious and had been such a help to your servants and your flocks.

Verse 9, when David's young men came with that request they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David's name; then they waited. Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. He knows David is a fugitive, he is just another runaway servant. We got a lot of those kind of men today, no respect at all for David, even though Nabal knows that David is the next king of Israel. His wife is going to state this very clearly. But he has no respect for David and he reveals his evil character. He has no plan to honor the plan of God, and say this is the man that God has anointed next king of Israel. I would be happy to make provision for him. Not at all, he treats him just as a runaway servant like a lot of men are. Why should I give you anything? Shall I take my bread and water, verse 11, my meat and give it to men whose origin I don’t know? Until nobody is out in the wilderness, want me to give them food? David's young men retraced their way, went back and they came and told him all these words David said to his men, "Each of you gird on your sword.” So each man girded on his sword, David girded on his sword, he takes four hundred of his six hundred men, he leaves 200 men back to guard the camp, he takes 400 that will be plenty to take care of Nabal and his entire family, servants , every one. The intension is, you go and we are going to finish him off. One of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them. Now not of this testimony of the servant. Yet the men were very good to us, we were not insulted, nor did we miss anything as long as we went about with them while we were in the fields. "They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep.

I mean we got to be out here, we didn’t have to worry about wild animals, we didn't have to worry about robbers, we didn't have to worry about anything. We had armed guard. "Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master against all his household and note now what the servant says to Nabal's wife and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him." Such common knowledge that the servant doesn’t even mind speaking this way to Abigail, I mean common knowledge and you know as Abigail knows, he is comfortable going to the wife, who has obviously demonstrated intelligence and respectable character that you will do something. Consider what you should do, verse 17 because we are in serious trouble, this servant expects that when David’s representatives had been treated this way, David will have no choice, but to come and respond and retaliate and it is going to happen.

Verses 18 and following, what Abigail does is get all the provisions ready, that David would have desired, took two hundred loaves of bread, two jugs of wine, five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. I mean this is a wealthy home and she is able to gather these kind of provisions at a moment’s notice and prepare them to take to David. She tells her servants, you take these things and go before me and I will come after you, but she didn’t tell her husband what's going on. Remember she is very intelligent.

Verse 20, it came about as she was riding on her donkey coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. Again all these thing we do know always take time to talk about, but here you see what the sovereign hand of God, God's providence, what if they had missed each other, they don’t miss each other, it’s all in the plan of God. Now David had said in verse 21 "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness nothing have been missed he has returned me evil for good. "May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him." Every man and his household, will die by morning.

Nabal hasn’t been anointed by God for anything, thus David doesn’t have to show him the same kind of honor, respect and deference he does to Saul. So he is ready to act here. When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, and now you have a series of things that takes place, first in verse 24, she takes the blame for what has happened "On me alone, my lord, be the blame”. What a beautiful way to start this, I mean here you have got this beautiful woman, who has send all these provisions prostrated on the ground before you, saying it’s all my responsibility, my lord, please let your maidservant speak to you, listen to the words of your maidservant. What's even a fierce warrior like David is supposed to do in the presence of woman like this? I mean if it had been Nabal, he would have probably lost his head on the spot, but what would he do with Abigail? She assumes the blame. She does not say my husband has done the wrong thing, but let me talk to you, now she says it’s my fault. I will take the blame for what happens here, then she is not, but in a way she could say this because as his wife she would be in a position in the household as she has done here to take provisions, but she wasn’t in a place to intervene when Nabal treated David's servant so unkindly, but just a remarkable approach to David, the blame is on me. Then in the next verse she says, my husband is a worthless man.

Look at verse 25, "Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal means fool, so here she tells David his name tells you what he is, he is a fool, he is a worthless man, a son of Belial, Nabal is his name and folly is with him, but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you said, thus she took the blame, my husband is a worthless man, it is my fault I should have saw your servants coming and intervened. But I didn’t see the young men coming, so it’s my fault because if I would have been watching, I would have seen them, now obviously the blame is on her in that way, but she is structured in here that will make it difficult for David to do anything, but respond to her request.

Thirdly, verse 25, she says the lord has kept him from avenging himself. Verse 26 "Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, she says in effects, I am here as the Lord's represented to keep you from doing what you intend to do. My presence here is the Lord's intervening to keep you from doing what you would do. The Lord has restrained you from shedding blood, what do you mean? This is what David is going. The Lord has restrained you because here she is with the provisions, with the apology, from avenging yourself by your own hand. In other words, the lord has kept you from taking things into your own hand rather than letting the Lord deal with the worthless man. Now then let all your enemies and those who seek evil against my Lord be as Nabal, note she is saying here The Lord will take care of my husband. Don’t take it into your own hands, let the Lord do it. Now you see her godly character, because she in effect is telling David to do exactly what David said he needed to do when it came to Saul. Let the Lord take care of Saul. Now here you have Abigail telling David, you let the Lord take care of this worthless man. Don’t put his blood on your hands. What would David want to be? Oh I killed him and his family because he wouldn’t give me what I wanted. It’s not going to look good for David even though the servants would acknowledge David did deserve and his men provisions for what they have done. Her husband is a worthless man, now a remarkable woman here, godly woman.

She lives with his worthless man, this is her husband. She has obviously shown him respect and honor, it wouldn’t have been an easy life, but the Lord was preparing her for something which she could not have known. The next statement, the fourth thing she says is she has brought provisions, the very provisions that David had requested. Verse 27, "Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord”. There would be no reason for David to continue with his plan to take vengeance because you have got what you had asked for. Here are the provisions, they are laid and coming, I am sorry. I didn’t find out the young men had been there till late, otherwise I would have had the provisions here earlier, but the provisions are here, so why would you continue to take vengeance? This is the way she structured her case that you know David will realize he has no grounds to act because the provisions have come and had been late, now you are going to go and kill everybody just because they were late? And the person who laid with them, who takes the blame is here apologizing, so it’s a remarkable strategy, the one my wife has used on me often.

Well now note the fifth thing she says is in verse 28 and that is David is fighting the Lord's battles. Verse 28 "Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant, she won’t let this go. I am the blame, if somebody had to be killed for, it would have to be her. I am asking you to forgive my transgression because I should have been looking out to keep my worthless husband from doing evil, so forgive the transgression of your maidservant for the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord and evil will not be found in you all your days.

David, you are fighting the lord's battles. The Lord will establish your house. Evil will not be found in you all your days. She then come up and confronts David face to face and say this would be an evil thing for you to come and kill everyone in this household because of the worthless act of Nabal. The Lord will establish your house, your line and evil will not be found in you all your days. Certainly was the Lord acting on your behalf you fight the Lord's battles, the Lord will preserve you, evil will not be found in your house. In other words you wouldn’t follow through on this desire which would be evil in light of what I have done here. Then she says that the Lord will preserve David's life Verse 29, "Should anyone rise up to pursue you, seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. Like you put them in the sling shot like David had with Goliath and then throw them away. So the Lord will preserve David's life, so you don’t have to take vengeance on Nabal. then she says David will be King over Israel, Verse 30: So I said Nabal knew, because his wife knows, everybody in Israel knows who the next king of Israel is, look at verse 30 "And when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoint you ruler over Israel. How marvel, what a woman, here she is out confronting a man who has six hundred soldiers. I mean when Saul chases him, he brings three thousand, a man who is hiding in areas for his life. Who has to ask for provisions from somebody like Nabal and yet she has no doubt when the Lord does for my lord, according to the all the good he has promised on you, her comment is God will do what he has promised and God has promised David will be king. He will appoint you ruler over Israel.

Then verse 31, to avenge himself would bring a guilty conscience on him, when he does become King. David, you don’t want to do anything when you assent the throne your conscience will bother, you will look back and say, I shouldn't have done that to Nabal's family. Verse 31, when you become king of Israel, this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. That’s the end of her request. When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant. Those verses are remarkable, it ends up, David, you don’t want to come to the throne of Israel with a guilty conscience. You don’t want to say I shed blood without cause, it wasn’t necessary and I did it just to avenge myself and that wouldn’t be right. And so when the Lord deals well with you David, remember me.

What would you do? What choice does David have? What’s the only thing he can do? The only thing he can do is the right thing and David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, blessed be your discernment, blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand.. Isn’t it interesting? With his greatest enemy Saul, David was very careful. But he almost got tripped up here with a nobody, Nabal. A worthless man and he almost did what he said he wouldn’t do to his worst enemy, that’s take vengeance into my own hands. But he almost stumbled with Nabal, often that he is come from a great victory with Saul when I was right there and could have killed him, I didn’t because I wouldn’t take vengeance into my own hands, you come to Nabal, well everybody says he is a worthless person and David almost does what he wouldn’t do to his worst enemy Saul, take vengeance into his own hand and David is very grateful to Abigail for her discernment and for her keeping him from bloodshed and avenging himself.

"Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you. Now he says it was the Lord who sent you, it was the Lord who used you to restrained me. Unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left in Nabal until morning light as much as one male. I mean if you hadn’t come, so David doesn’t take any credit hence while I am sure, I would have come through my senses before I did it. I have to acknowledge if it hadn’t been for your intervention and the Lord using you, I was so filled with wrath over this that I would have wiped out every male in Nabal's family. So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request." and Abigail goes back home to Nabal, all joy, it’s her husband, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was very merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything until morning. Now you will think she will never tell him. But she does, you know she is not going to hide this from her house and hope none of the servants ever let it leak that I took provisions to David, and she doesn’t tell when he is drunk so that someday if he does find out, she can say well I told you, but you were drunk and remember. She waits till morning, verse 37 when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and you know what? He has a stroke. He can’t believe it. His wife told him these things, his heart died within him, he became as a stone. Ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, he is dead. You think David wasn’t glad when he now heard that Nabal was dead that he didn’t do it? And how terrible would that had been to have that blood of all these people, these servants who speaks so well of David, they would have been among those that would have had to go. Every male were going to die.

Now he finds out Nabal is dead. What remarkable turn of events, so verse 39, when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. He has kept back his servant from evil, he kept me from doing what would have been wrong. Let the lord do it, the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

The servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” She arose, bowed with her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servants.” Her being yes and becoming his wife means what I do is to wash the feet of the servants in the household of David. That is what I am here for. So she comes to David, she became his wife, we have a note here. David is adding wives, he also took Ahinoam of Jezreel and so both Abigail and Ahinoam become wives of David. Now he also has another wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, but Saul has intervened there now and taken since David is out in the wilderness, he has taken Michal the wife of David and given her to another man to be his wife.

That will come back later in the accounts, Chapter 26. Now let’s get back to Saul and David, when we left off with that at Chapter at the end of Chapter 24, Saul was in tears and expressing sorrow for tracing David and acknowledging David was the greater man and someday David would rule and asking David to make a covenant guaranteeing that he wouldn’t annihilate family when he becomes King and Saul went back home, but you know what happens? When you just have remorse over something, it goes away. The emotions come and go. Now we come to Chapter 26 and verse 1, then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?" So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. You know Second Corinthians Chapter 7 talks about repentance of godly sorrow .and worldly repentance doesn't produce any change, the repentance of the World goes nowhere and that’s what Saul had here. He had no godly repentance, just worldly sorrow, the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him, but now, the Ziphites come.

Now back in Chapter 23, the Ziphites had conspired with Saul with the intention of turning David over to Saul and then we had the events that we read about in Chapter 24, where Saul expressed his sorrow over his intentions. Now the Ziphites come back and say, you know what? We know where David is, you can get him this time. Saul is right back to being the old Saul, the emotion of that earlier meeting now has gone, I am back to just my old intention, what about the statements he made? About God's plan here? Now the Lord delivered me in to your hand, but you spared me. You will be established, I know you will be the king, however it doesn’t matter, and sometimes we explains why we wonder, some people seem to have such a genuine sorrow and you know they were broken hearted and then a little bit of time goes back and they are back to their old ways. That’s worldly people with worldly sorrow produces no lasting change and so Saul is on the hunt again. Gathered his army, three thousand men, remember David has six hundred, this is a five to one in on Saul's side, but the Lord is on David's side, so it won’t happen.

So David has his men out, they see Saul coming, they get word he is coming, at the end of verse 3 when he saw Saul came after him into the wilderness ,David sent out spies, he knew that Saul was definitely coming. Now obviously David doesn’t have his defenses down, he has got men watching and then word comes, so he sends his men out to spy and see where Saul is. Verse 5 David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. David saw the place where Saul lay and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. So here they had camped for the night, everybody is going to sleep, nobody is expecting David is going to come and attack, this overwhelming force, so here they camp for the night, and there are already people guarding, David will rebuke them strongly for not doing what they should have been doing in protecting Saul. David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, saying, "Which one of you will go down with me into the camp?" a remarkable request. I want a man, just one that will accompany me, I am going down into the middle of their camp. And Abishai said, "I will go down with you." so David and Abishai – verse 7, came to the people by night, behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp and his spear stuck in the ground at his head; Abner and the people were lying around him., so you have the camp like a big circle and in the centre of that circle Saul, because he has to have the greatest protection, another chief of Saul's army if you will is there with Saul because he will be the last one to defend that every body will have to go before they can get to the king and Saul's spear stuck in the ground right bye his head, so that if anything happens, he can get right up to grab his spear and be ready for battle.

Now, here is another God given opportunity, at least to some would see, even as Abishai sees it. David and Abishai make their way right into the camp, right through all these surrounding soldiers, here they are standing there, there Saul snoring away. Abishai said to David verse 8, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.” One time I will do it. It will be quick, I won’t have to stab him, two or three times so give one quick stroke, obviously this is the Lord's doing. How else we do arrive here with your enemy lying on the ground before you with his spear right there, I would just pull that that spear right out of the ground, run it through him once, God has delivered your enemy into your hand.

David said to Abishai, verse 9, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without guilt?" There is an opportunity to kill him. But nothing is changed, this is still the Lord's anointed. The opportunity to kill him doesn’t change the fact he is the Lord's anointed. David also said, "As the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. "The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. In God’s time in God’s way, Saul will meet his end, but it won’t be with my hand.

Now take the spear beside his head and his water jug that’s right there beside him and let’s get out of here. So David took the spear and the water jug, they went away, no one saw or knew it. No one woke up, they were all asleep. How could that be? Look at the last part of verse 12, because a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. They couldn’t wake up. No one was going to have a bad dream and open up his eyes and all of a sudden see David and Abishai there because they are all in a God induced sound deep sleep. David crossed over to the other side, stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them so he gets far enough way between them, get on a mountain his a voice can carryover, but he is in a position to escape if need be. David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Will you not answer, Abner?" now suddenly you know they awake from their sleep. Abner replied, "Who are you who call to the king? David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? About the top of the soldier lying here. Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the lord your king. I mean Abishai would have killed him. This thing that you have done is not good, as the Lord lives all of you must surely die because you did not guard your lord. The Lord's anointed. Military justice requires that you be executed, you slept on your watch, the king could have died at the hand of an enemy.

For that it’s a capital offense for a man in your position. Soldiers are entrust to that responsibility. Now, look and see, where is the King's spear? Where is his water jug in case, they don’t believe that he was really there. Here we go again, then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, is this your voice, my son David? David said, it is my voice, my lord the King. He also said why then is my Lord perusing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand? Now therefore please let my lord, the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering, but if it is men, cured are they before the Lord for they had driven me out today, so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord saying, go serve other Gods. Now then do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord for the king of Israel has come out to search fro a single flee, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains." We are back to that again, the King of Israel is out here chasing a nobody and David is a nobody apart from the hand of God on him and divine appointment.

Saul said, here we go with remorse, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.” You know even the most ungodly of men can say true things. Here he is saying then a truth again. I have played the fool, I committed a serious error. David replied, "Behold the spear of the king, sent one of your young men over here to get your things. "The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. "Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He deliver me from all distress." Saul said to David "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail."

This is the last meeting of David and Saul and Saul's words are true as they were on the earlier meeting. Here he says you will accomplish much and surely prevail and so it is time of again remorse and sorrow, I shouldn’t be chasing David, he has spared my life again. Saul returned home and David went on his way, continues to live in the wilderness.

But you know we won’t get into Chapter 27, but know nothing has changed as far as Saul is concerned, David said to himself "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul, so he is going to have to flee again. He realize this wear is off on Saul, the emotion of the moment gets dissolves, so he give up and going back, but he will be back tomorrow, the day which I have to go some place a little more secure, because one of these times, Saul is going to get “lucky” putting myself on the brink here and he knows he can’t kill Saul.

So you know he is in a stage where Saul will not give up David is sure until he dies, Saul dies or he is successful in killing David, so David can’t do anything to hurt Saul, the only thing that he do here is to get out of the area, so go to the land of the Philistines and then Saul will figure out he is out of my territory and get on with other things. So a great Chapter is here, I have got a number of points, we don’t have time to do any detail, let me just mention, I have got versus with them in other places, but rulers are appointed by God and must be respected accordingly. We could look at other passages in the Old Testament and the New Testament, David’s attitude towards the ruler, there is a respect and an honor. It is a disgrace sometimes for believers to speak of the leaders that God has established, we are not an anointed nations like Israel and so on, but nonetheless Romans 12 tells us God appoints those in power, we need to be very careful that we show them proper respect, proper honor, it’s not a matter we have agree with their policies or don’t, we think their character is good or bad, they are the ones that God has placed in the position of authority.

Two, we are not to avenge ourselves upon our enemies. Romans 12, 17 and following cautions us very carefully not to take vengeance into our own hands, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. The third point I noted, the ungodly weren’t honest, in those brief periods of lucidness that may come, should have to proclaim the righteousness of the saints. Jesus in Mathew 5:16, the sermon in the mountain, said that we have to do our good works in such a way that men see your works and glorify your father which is in heaven. On these certain periods of time, Saul does have to acknowledge the godly character of David and we ought to conduct ourselves, so if those kind of lucid moments ever come to the unbelievers who observe us. They would have to if they were going to be honest, acknowledge that we functioned in a godly righteous way.

Point four, I noted a godly woman is a powerful influence and Proverbs 31 speaks to that. A fifth point that we noted is we must be carefully at great victories, not followed by devastating defeat. David almost stumbled with Nabal, as we noted they wouldn’t take vengeance into his own and in Chapter 24, but in Chapter 25 he almost does and then he is thankful that the Lord intervened and kept him from doing what he shouldn’t have done and Abigail was right. If he had done it, he would have ascended the throne with a guilty conscience, blood on his hands. Be very careful, sometimes we are vulnerable because if we had a great victory, we think we stood strong and walk out, fall flat on our face.

Number six, we must be prepared to resist repeated temptations. Now repeated opportunities don’t mean, well this must be what the Lord wants. David has repeated opportunity to kill Saul. None of those opportunities are indicative, this is the will of the Lord for David to do it. It’s just an opportunity for him to do the wrong thing and to grow by doing the right thing. So we need to be careful, sometimes something that we don’t think is right keeps representing itself when you think well maybe it would be alright then, know what is wrong will always be wrong, even if it ever presents itself to be in the best of circumstances, humanly speaking and you could even say it seems the Lord has provided this opportunity. The wrong will always be wrong and David demonstrates wisdom there, a faithful believer will always be the result of relentless opposition, persecution, there is no sound human reason for Saul's hatred of David. It’s irrational, but there is no rationalities of sin in the thinking of sinners. David's responsibility is to be faithful to God and leave it there and the Lord is our deliverer. What a great god we have, it’s the same God David had, praise him! Let’s pray.

Thank you Lord that you are a great and sovereign God, thank you for the life of David, not a perfect man, but a man who had a passion in his heart to be faithful to you, to honor you, to respect you and to wait upon you. Lord we take these truths to our own heart, our own lives as we walk with you and remember that we are to be men and women after your heart, the passion to be faithful to you, to take the lessons that we would even learn from the life of David and put them into practice in our own walk with you, that be true in the days of the week before us, we pray in Christ’s name, Amen!