Good morning gang! I miss hearing from some of you! Hope you all are doing well!
1st Samuel Chapter 24.
I remember this chapter very well. Saul has been pursuing David for days in hopes of killing David. God allows Saul to enter a cave in order to go to the bathroom. It's the very cave where David and his men are hiding. David has every chance, and perhaps even the right, to kill King Saul. But all he does is cut off a portion of his robe unexpectedly. Then once Saul leaves the cave, eventually David comes out and speaks to Saul from a distance. Basically saying you have been trying to kill me, I had the chance to kill you, I didn't. May God judge me and you according to our hearts. Saul greatly apologizes to David and leaves no longer pursuing David to kill him.
For me, this is a great passage about RESPECT!
Who do we consider our Authority Figures? How do we treat them? What do we say about them? David spoke highly of Saul to his men. He recognized Saul has God's anointed. He bowed to him showing great great respect despite the fact that Saul was an evil man. How much respect do we show those above us and who mistreat us?
The Bible says pray for those who mistreat us. Let us pray for are enemies, for those who mistreat us in hopes that God would use us to show them the Light of Christ. Perhaps God wants our lives to be the very life he uses to change those who are not walking with the Lord. God, please use me!!!!
Imagine being David who had been chased down by someone who had been out to kill him for so long and this person was in power as the ruler! Now David has his chance to put an end to it all and become king himself! What does he do? He doesn’t act selfishly like the way King Saul has been behaving. Instead David chose to show Saul that he had this opportunity and he let him live. This would not have been the case if the tables were turned. I think this gives us a little look at one way that David had a heart after God. He chose not to take the wrong shortcut by taking the kingdom this way. David chose to let Saul live.
I was reminded of Deuteronomy 30:19-20.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
This chapter also reminded me of how Jesus didn’t take any wrong shortcuts either. God wants us to live as we see described in Philippians 2:3-8.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
It was definitely a good lesson in respect. First, I can easily see David and his men hiding in the caves. I have hiked in Engedi and some of the caves in those hills are quite a climb up to, are huge and can hold thousands of people. It’s a hot and dry area by the Dead Sea.
David had regrets from cutting off a portion of Saul’s robe. He had respect for God’s anointed one regardless of what anyone might think Saul deserved. God used Saul to teach David many things about himself (God) – see the Psalms that he wrote during the time Saul was chasing him (Psalm 34, 56, 57 & 142). When I read David’s writings, I can see the spiritual growth that God was orchestrating through his trials with Saul.
Romans 13:1-7 teaches that God has placed the government and its leaders in power. (It’s so easy to forget this.) We may not know why He did so, but like David, we are to respect the position and roles of those that God has given authority. 1 Peter 2:13-15 tells us to submit to every human authority for the Lord’s sake as it is His will that we do so. I’m studying 1 Peter in another Bible study and this week’s lesson on submission to human institutions brought me to my knees with conviction. I’m not to speak out against them but am to love, honor and respect them. I forgot how this can reflect on my testimony. Thank you, Lord, for the correction Your Word gives me. Thank you for another chance to do the right thing and for the strength to fight the spiritual battles ahead.
While definitely on a smaller scale than the life and death story of David and Saul, I can connect this to my life when it comes to small petty things with other people. If someone gossips against me or says unkind things, it can be easy to do the same back. But not returning the favor is an even bigger statement, especially in the eyes of God.