1 Samuel 24:1-22: David Spares Saul’s Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22: David Spares Saul’s Life

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Samuel, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Samuel 24:1-22, so I’ll be reading a selection of verses from that passage. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

¹ When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. ⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. ¹² May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.”… ¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. ¹⁸ And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. ²¹ Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” ²² And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.  

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we come to you with all kinds of needs this morning. But we believe that, by your Spirit and through your Word, you can minister to every need we have. So please do that and, above all, draw us into a deeper relationship with you. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

 The idea of honoring authority isn’t exactly the most popular idea in our modern society. In the prevailing mindset of our culture, authority is inherently suspect. We distrust—and in some cases even reject—almost every kind of authority there is. We don’t trust the government because the government is run by corrupt politicians and lobbyists. This distrust of government also extends to the courts—since they also are all too often simply playing politics through their decisions.

In addition, our distrust of authority also extends to religious institutions. I’m sure many of us remember several years ago when the findings of a massive grand jury investigation were released detailing the horrific pattern of sexual abuse and cover-up by various Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania. As a result, many people have virtually no trust in church authorities even when it comes to spiritual matters. And going along with that, they don’t trust the Bible’s authority either, since the Bible is thought to be disproven by modern science. 

In addition, children are taught not to trust their parents’ authority—since their parents can’t possibly keep up with our rapidly evolving society, as evidenced by the fact that they probably don’t even know how to post a TikTok video. Plus, life is just way more fun if we do certain things behind our parents’ backs. Yet perhaps the most fundamental rejection of authority in our society is the rejection of basic biology and the authority of our XX or XY chromosomes to determine our gender. 

Truth be told, as one writer named Jonathan Leeman has observed, our rejection of authority is so complete that it’s actually rather difficult to find any authority in our society that hasn’t been toppled. Virtually every authority has been systematically dismantled—except, of course, for one authority. And that is the authority of “Me.” Nobody else has the right tell me who I am, or what’s true or false, or what’s right or wrong—because I alone have the right to define my own reality and be my own authority.

However, let me ask you this: could it be that the existence of various authorities outside of ourselves isn’t a curse but is actually a blessing? Could it be that authority isn’t just some burden we’re forced to endure but is actually a good gift from our loving God? As you can probably tell, I believe that’s precisely what the Bible teaches. The various authorities that exist in our world have been instituted by God in order to promote human flourishing.

And because of that, our responsibility is to honor the various authorities God’s placed over us—just as we see David doing in today’s main passage of 1 Samuel 24. The main idea of this passage is that David honors the authority God has established by sparing Saul’s life. Again, David honors the authority God has established by sparing Saul’s life. And as we walk through this passage, we’re going to see why God-ordained authority is such a good thing and explore how we can live faithfully under each of the human authorities God’s placed over us.

So, let’s begin by looking at verses 1-2: ¹ When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.

Now, to remind you of what’s been happening in the book of 1 Samuel, God’s made it clear to David that he’s chosen David to be the next king of Israel. However, the current king—Saul—is determined to prevent that from happening. So, for the past few chapters, David’s been forced to flee for his life from one place to another as Saul pursues him. And as these first two verses make clear, Saul continues to pursue David in this chapter as well.

However, the story takes an interesting turn in verse 3: “And he [Saul] came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.” So, this is certainly quite the situation. We’re told that Saul goes into a cave in order to “relieve himself”—the text says. A more literal translation is that Saul went in to “cover his feet.” I guess it doesn’t matter if you’re royalty or not—when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. And normally, of course, we’re not informed about these kinds of personal details in the stories of the Bible. So, why is this even recorded? Well, as we see, it turns out that “David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts” of that very same cave.

We then read in the first part of verse 4, And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Now, in all fairness to David’s men, I think it’s very understandable why they’d be thinking along these lines. Scholars tell us that there were many caves in that region. So, considering all of the caves Saul could have gone into, what were the chances that he’d choose the very cave in which David and his men were hiding? Surely, this was God’s hand at work, providentially giving David an opportunity to kill Saul and assume his rightful place as king of Israel!

However, the second half of the verse tells us that, instead of killing Saul, “David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.” Now, by any measure, this is pretty impressive. I’m not sure how exactly David was able to do this without Saul noticing, but he somehow managed to do it. We also can’t be sure what was going through David’s mind as he performed this ninja-like maneuver. Did he originally intend to kill Saul but only restrain himself from doing so at the very last moment? Or did he intend all along only to cut off a portion of Saul’s robe? We don’t really know.

The story then continues in verses 5-7: ⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

Without a doubt, the most distinctive phrase in these verses is the one David uses to refer to Saul. He calls him, “the Lord’s anointed.” Even though Saul wasn’t at all walking in a godly manner, God had still “anointed” Saul as king and sovereignly appointed him to that position. Therefore, David had no right to remove someone from the kingship whom God had placed in that office—or even to act in a dishonorable way toward the one whom God had anointed as king. This is why David regrets even his seemingly harmless act of cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Likewise, it’s important for us to keep in mind that, just God sovereignly appointed Saul to be king of Israel, he’s also sovereignly appointed every human ruler of our day as well. Along these lines, Paul writes in Romans 13:1-2, ¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. A few verses later, Paul even states that “the authorities are ministers of God” as they faithfully discharge their duties of rewarding good and punishing evil.

So, even though we have elections and appear to choose our own leaders, God’s actually the one who’s sovereignly guiding that entire process and putting the people into office whom he wants to be there. And the people he puts there have not just power but real and legitimate authority—an authority that’s been delegated to them by God.

It’s kind of like when parents go out somewhere—maybe on a date or to run a few errands—and leave their children at home for a few hours. Usually, when they do that, they’ll leave their oldest child in charge and tell the other children to do what that oldest child says while they’re gone. In that situation, the oldest child doesn’t have inherent authority but merely has delegated authority for that brief period of time. Similarly, all earthly authority—whether it be the authority possessed by governments, employers, teachers, churches, husbands, parents, or any other authority—is all delegated authority that has its origin in God himself. So, any rebellion against that authority is ultimately rebellion against God. 

And friends, Iet me remind you that the God of the Bible is a good God and a loving God and a God who’s established things the way he has in order to facilitate the maximum amount of human flourishing. And that includes the earthly authorities he’s established. Contrary to what people today often believe, the authority structures found throughout society are actually wonderful gifts from our loving God. Of course, just like everything else in this fallen world, authority is often twisted and distorted and abused. But authority itself is a gift from God that’s designed to promote human flourishing.

I love the way David says it in 2 Samuel 23:3-4. He states, ³ The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, ⁴ he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? That’s the way God designed authority to operate and the effect he designed it to have. Of course, as I said, that’s often not the way authority actually ends up working in this fallen world, but that’s nevertheless God’s design for authority. 

And as I said, because God’s the one who’s established human authorities, our responsibility is to be subject to the authorities God’s established. That’s what’s commanded in Romans 13:1, right? “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” And not only are we commanded to “be subject” to human authorities by rending to them our obedience, we’re actually called to go beyond even that and give them the “honor” that’s due them. Romans 13:7 states, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” And I believe we can “honor” our earthly authorities by speaking respectfully about them and also by praying for them.

Now, at this point, you might wonder, “What if they’re not worthy of honor?” Well, keep in mind that Paul wrote this during the reign of Nero. And if you know anything about Nero, you know he was one of the most wicked and downright barbaric rulers history has ever known. Nero had no regard for human life and would actually light Christians on fire and use them as human torches to light his gardens. He would also feed them to lions and have other horrendous things done to them. So, regardless of how ungodly a ruler might be, we’re still called to “be subject” to them and honor them—if not for who they are, then at least for the office they hold.

And back in our main passage, David’s conduct toward Saul illustrates this principle as well. Even though, to put it mildly, Saul’s character left much to be desired, David still spares Saul’s life and then regrets even the very subtle way in which he failed to honor Saul when he cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. 

We then read in verses 8-11: ⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 

So, David presents the corner of Saul’s robe to Saul as proof that he has no intention of harming Saul in any way. David then continues reasoning with Saul in the subsequent verses. After that, verses 16-17 tell us, ¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.”

So, it appears as though David’s gotten through to Saul. Instead of referring to David merely as “the son of Jesse”—as Saul had done on almost every previous occasion—Saul now affectionately calls him “my son David.” Saul even weeps in front of everyone as he declares David’s righteousness. Saul states, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.”

The language Saul uses here reminds me of Romans 12:19-21, where Paul writes, ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So, instead of taking matters into our own hands and trying to bring about justice ourselves, we’re called to leave all vengeance and retribution to God. We’re even called to repay “with good” any evil that’s done to us. And back in our main passage, even Saul acknowledges that that’s exactly what David has done.

Saul then goes on to say in verses 18-19, ¹⁸ “And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.”

Saul then says something that’s nothing short of amazing in verse 20: “And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.” Although we’ve known this to be true ever since David was secretly anointed as king back in chapter 16, we now see that even Saul himself recognizes that this is something God’s determined to bring about.

Saul then says in verse 21, “Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” Again, a truly remarkable thing for the king of Israel to say. Verse 22: “And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.” So, even though Saul calls off his pursuit of David for the time being, David knows from experience how fickle Saul can be and therefore wisely returns not to his home in Gibeah but rather “up to the stronghold.”

So, this chapter is about David refusing to stretch out his hand against “the Lord’s anointed.” Although God had promised that the kingdom would one day be David’s, David realizes that the kingdom isn’t something he’s permitted to take for himself but rather something God has to give him. We might say that the kingdom was God’s to give but not David’s to take. So, for the time being, David understands that his obligation is to honor the authority God’s placed over him.

And as I said earlier, we’re called to do the same—and not only in the way we relate to our governing authorities but in the way we relate to all of the authorities God’s placed over us. Ephesians 5:22 says this about the responsibility of wives toward their husbands: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Then, a few verses after that, Ephesians 6:1 says this about the responsibility of children toward their parents: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” 

Also, Colossians 3:22 says this about the way bondservants should relate to their masters: “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” As I’ve explained before, this isn’t any way condoning slavery but is simply recognizing it as a reality of the day. Also, it’s actually highly relevant for us today with regard to how employees should act toward their employers. Then, last but not least, Hebrews 13:17 teaches this about the responsibility of church members toward church elders: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account…. 

And as we consider what all these verses say to us about the different authorities God’s instituted over different spheres of our lives, I think it’s also very helpful for us to understand how God’s designed authority to function. In our fallen world, there are plenty of examples all around us of authority being misused and abused, but what does it look like for authority to be exercised in a godly manner? And my hope is that, as we understand more of the way God intended authority to function, we’ll see that authority is indeed a good gift from a loving God—and that we’ll each be encouraged even more to honor the various authorities God’s placed over us. I also hope that this will help those of us who are in positions of authority to exercise that authority in a godly manner. 

So, here are four principles for how God intends authority to function. By the way, I’ve drawn these from Jonathan Leeman’s book titled Authority.

The first principle is that godly authority isn’t unaccountable, but submits to a higher authority. When Jesus came, he came as one who had authority. Yet, in John 8:28, Jesus says, “…I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.” So, if even Jesus submitted to a higher authority, certainly God would have you and I submit to a higher authority as well—specifically his authority. So, regardless of how high you rank or how much power you have, don’t ever allow yourself to forget that your authority isn’t ultimate and that you yourself will one day have to answer to God for how you’ve exercised the authority he’s delegated to you.

Second, godly authority doesn’t steal life, but creates it. Just as God uses his authority to promote human flourishing, he calls us to use our authority to promote human flourishing as well. So, for example, parents should be seeking to help their children grow up to be godly and responsible adults. Managers should be seeking to help their subordinates grow and develop in their career fields. Police officers should be seeking to protect the vulnerable and promote justice. Every earthly authority should seek to use their authority not to benefit themselves but rather as a way of helping those under their authority to flourish. And let’s not forget how David described a godly leader in 2 Samuel 23:4: “he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” For those in authority, is that the effect you seek to have on those under you? 

Third, godly authority isn’t unteachable, but seeks wisdom. Proverbs 12:15 states, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” And if you’ve ever read Proverbs, you know there are numerous other proverbs that say basically the same thing. A key difference between a foolish leader and a wise one is that the wise leader continually pursues greater wisdom. He or she has a teachable spirit, is open to correction, and often seeks out advice and feedback.

And finally, number four, godly authority isn’t self-protective, but bears the costs. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says that he “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And that’s the mentality everyone in authority is called to have—a mentality of serving others rather than of being served by them. Unfortunately, many leaders today have it backwards. They abuse their authority in the pursuit of their own gain and then try to use their authority to protect themselves from the consequences of their behavior. Yet as Leeman says, it’s not about being self-protective but rather about sacrificially bearing the costs. 

So, let me encourage those who are in authority to exercise that authority in a godly manner. And let me encourage all of us to submit to the authorities God’s placed over us. Now, of course, there are limits to that submission. As we find taught very clearly in Acts 4:19 and Acts 5:29, we’re not required to submit to earthly authorities if they tell us to do something that God forbids or prohibit us from doing something that God commands. As Peter and John state unequivocally in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” That means not obeying your employer if they tell you to do something dishonest for the sake of company profit or prohibit you from speaking at all about your Christian faith. But under normal circumstances, God expects to be subject to the authorities he’s placed over us.

You might compare it to the way some people decide who they’re going to root for in a football game. I know a lot of people who are living here in Pittsburgh but who used to live in another city and are still loyal to that city’s football team. Let’s say they used to live in Denver. So, whenever the Broncos are playing, they root for the Broncos. That’s their primary loyalty. But since they’re now living in Pittsburgh, they also have no problem rooting for the Steelers as well—as long as the Steelers winning doesn’t get in the way of the Broncos winning. So, they’ll root for the Steelers until the Steelers play the Broncos. Then they’re going to be all about the Broncos. They’re Broncos fans first and Steelers fans second. And to some extent, that’s how we should view earthly authorities. As long as we’re here on earth, we’re called to obey the earthly authorities God’s put over us. However, our primary loyalty isn’t to earthly authorities but to God himself. So, if the two are ever in conflict, we obey God.

In addition, as we endeavor to honor earthly authorities—just as David does in 1 Samuel 24 and just as so many other biblical passages instruct us to do—let’s remember that Jesus is the ultimate example of one who honored the authority that was over him, the authority of God the Father. Just as David in our main passage had an opportunity to seize the kingdom for himself when Saul wandered into that cave, Jesus likewise had an opportunity to seize the kingdom for himself when Satan offered it to him in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:8-9, we’re told, ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” At that moment, Jesus could have taken things into his own hands and taken a very convenient shortcut to obtaining “the kingdoms of the world”—without having to suffer on the cross.

Yet, just as David restrained himself from killing Saul, Jesus refused Satan’s offer and instead obediently followed his Father’s will. Philippians 2:8 tells us that “…being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Following the Father’s directive, Jesus allowed himself to be crucified in order to pay for our sins. All of the punishment our sins deserved was poured out on Jesus on the cross so it wouldn’t have to be poured out on us in hell.

Paul then says in verses 9-11, ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So, in time, Jesus was first raised from the dead and then exalted in an even greater way than anything Satan had offered him. And again, the way Jesus obtained this exaltation wasn’t by seizing it for himself but rather by trusting the Father to grant it in the Father’s perfect timing and in the Father’s perfect way—just as, in our main passage, David waits to receive the kingdom in God’s perfect timing and in God’s perfect way.

And as a result of this, Jesus now stands ready to save each one of us from our sins—provided that we turn away from our sins and look to him alone for rescue. So, if you’re here today and haven’t yet done that, Jesus invites you even now to receive the rescue he offers.