David Spares the King

“May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.” — 1 Samuel 24:6

David had to run away from King Saul and hide in the wild hill country. Men came to join him, until he had his own little army of six hundred men. But Saul kept chasing him.

One day Saul heard that David was hiding near a place called En-gedi, among the rocky hills where the wild goats lived. So Saul took three thousand of his best soldiers and went looking for him.

On the way there was a cave, and Saul went into it on his own. He didn’t know that David and his men were hiding deep in the back of that very cave!

David’s men whispered to him. “This is the day God told you about! He said, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands, and you can do whatever you like to him.’”

David crept forward quietly in the dark. He came right up behind Saul. And he cut off a corner of Saul’s robe, without Saul even noticing.

But afterwards, David felt bad, even about cutting the robe. “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master,” he said to his men. “He is the king God anointed. I must never lift my hand against him.” And David wouldn’t let his men attack Saul.

Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.

Then David went out of the cave too. “My lord the king!” he called out.

Saul looked behind him. And David bowed down low, with his face to the ground.

“Why do you listen to people who say I want to hurt you?” David said. “Today you have seen with your own eyes that the Lord put you into my hands in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you. But I spared you. I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ Look, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. Now you can see that I’m not trying to hurt you. Let the Lord judge between us.”

When David finished speaking, Saul said, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And Saul cried out loud.

“You are more righteous than I am,” Saul said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. Today you have shown me how good you are. When the Lord put me into your hands, you didn’t kill me. Who finds his enemy and lets him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for what you did for me today. Now I know that you will surely be king.”

David could have taken revenge. He could have grabbed the throne for himself. But he chose to wait for God’s time, and to be kind to the man who was trying to hurt him.

Read it in your Bible: 1 Samuel 24

Dear God, when someone is unkind to me, help me not to pay them back. Help me to be kind and to trust you to make things right. Amen.