1 Samuel 26 David Spares Saul Again
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Intro:
Intro:
Have you ever seen the movie ground hog day?
Bill Murray is stuck in the endless repetition of the same day
He has to go through the same thing over and over so he starts to do something different each day because he knows he will wake up the same
David is stuck in his own groundhog day
Saul is chasing him all over the wilderness in Israel
It doesn’t matter what happens it is always the same result
Saul isn’t going to catch David because God’s protection is upon him
At the same time, David isn’t going to touch Saul because He is the Lord’s anointed
He is going to let God take care of it
In the midst of repetitive attempts David mixes things up
Before he tore off the corner or Saul’s robe in a cave
Today we are going to see him get a little more daring
Read 1 Samuel 26:1-5
Read 1 Samuel 26:1-5
I. Ratted Out By Relatives vs. 1-5
I. Ratted Out By Relatives vs. 1-5
Another thing that hasn’t changed is people ratting David out to Saul
This time the Ziphites went to Saul and told him
What makes it so bad is
First, they, like Nabal, were descendents of Caleb
Caleb would’ve never done this to David
Second, they are part of the tribe of Judah
These are David’s people who are giving him up
He is being ratted out by his relatives
Like Nabal, the Ziphites were related to Caleb, but being members of the tribe of Judah, they should have been loyal to David
Saul hears this and takes 3000 choice men
They camp on the mountain opposite from where David is camping
David sends out spies to determine what is going on
He had to be getting tired of this cat and mouse game
It has been years now of evading Saul’s attempts to kill him
But David had this assurance
The Lord kept David safe and delivered him whenever Saul was near.
He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
II. Sneaking into Saul’s Camp vs. 6-12
II. Sneaking into Saul’s Camp vs. 6-12
David decides to do something daring
At night he goes and sees Saul’s camp for himself
He finds Saul sleeping in the middle of his troops
Saul and Abner, who was Saul’s captain (14:10) and cousin (v. 50), were sleeping at the heart of the camp, surrounded by the wagons and baggage
This was a method of protecting the King while people watched for invaders
There is a big problem… everyone is sleeping
It’s hard to protect the king when everyone, including your personal body guard Abner is fast asleep
We will see later that it is a God-induced sleep but this is how God protects David
vs. 6 Following the Lord’s Leading
We see David do something next that is important to note
He asks if anyone Ahimelech & Abishai if they want to go down into Saul’s camp
We aren’t told David was led by the Lord, but something spurred him to do it
Maybe it was everyone sleeping, or the Lord moved on his heart
It is important to learn to discern and following the leading of the Lord
Whether it is you seeing a situation and seizing on it or God impresses something on your heart
Whatever the case, David asked “Who’s with me”
Abishai says he will go
This is the first mention of Abishai in Scripture
He is David’s nephew and one of his mighty men
He and Abner will develop a history
Abner will kill his brother but eventually Abishai will kill Abner
vs. 7
They enter the camp undetected
Saul has his spear stuck in the ground right near his head
The fact that Saul always seems to have the spear near to hand suggests it may have been an insignia of his office
vs. 8 Abishai wants to finish Saul off
Abishai begs David to let him kill aul
He claims he can do it with one strike
Abishai is kind of a hot head
vs. 9-11
David prevented him from killing Saul just like the cave
When Abishai looked at Saul, he saw an enemy, but David looked at him and saw “the Lord’s anointed
David knew that it was wrong to lay hands on God’s anointed, even though the king wasn’t serving as God wanted him to serve.
David might not have been able to respect the man, but he did respect the office and the God who gave that office to Saul.
David was sure that Saul’s life would end at the right time and in the right way
Instead of taking Saul’s life, David took his spear and water jug, just so he could prove to Saul a second time that he didn’t have designs on the king’s life
vs. 12
David takes Saul’s spear and jug of water
By doing this, David demonstrated how Saul’s life was in his hands
Depriving a man of his water and weapon in this region would have constituted a threat to his life.
It also demonstrates that David was not guilty of anything thing he was being accused of
Look at the end of vs. 12, God has caused a deep sleep to fall on them
This shows God’s protection, but also confirms his leading
No way should’ve everyone one in the camp been asleep
There should’ve been guards pulling three hour shifts to watch
God put all of them in a deep slumber so that David could enter the camp
III. Handling Your Critics vs. 13-25
III. Handling Your Critics vs. 13-25
The rest of this chapter is a case study in how to handle your critics
David goes far enough away where they hear him but they can’t catch him
He calls out Abner’s manhood for not protecting the king
He presents the evidence of his presence and his motives
And then he returns Saul’s goods
From this process we can see how to handle people when they criticize you
First off, you need to keep your distance (13-14)
First off, you need to keep your distance (13-14)
If someone is out to get you and are always critical you need to maintain your distance from them
David was out in the wilderness and Saul came to him
He confronts Saul, but from a distance
Saul wasn’t trustworthy enough to be in close quarters
David had his own tribe looking to give him up
There was nothing beneficial in David associating with Saul anymore
Second off, He challenges the criticism (15-16)
Second off, He challenges the criticism (15-16)
David shows he wasn’t after the King by showing how he spared his life
He entered the camp while Abner was sleeping and took the spear and jug
David alludes to how successful Saul was while David was in his service
He points out Abner’s failing
Third, Treat Leaders with Respect (17-21)
Third, Treat Leaders with Respect (17-21)
Saul recognizes David’s voice and calls him “my son.”
You can almost sense some trembling
He doesn’t call him the Son of Jesse to his face
David was a feared warrior and Saul realizes he escaped death
His heart doesn’t fail like Nabal’s did, but you get the idea the reaction was similar
Look at David’s response, “It is my voice, Lord”
He doesn’t call him father this time because Saul had given his wife Michal to another man
Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
He treats Saul with respect but you can tell the trust isn’t there
He was careful not to humiliate Saul in the presence of his men, although Saul couldn’t easily escape the embarrassment of the situation
This shows that sometimes you don’t need to say anything
The situation speaks for itself.`
For the second time, David had spared Saul’s life, and David knew that the Lord would reward him for what he had done (Ps. 7:8). But David didn’t expect Saul to value his life as he had valued Saul’s life, because he knew Saul couldn’t be trusted
The last recorded words of Saul to David are in 1 Samuel 26:25, a statement that affirms the greatness of David’s deeds and the certainty of his kingship. The two men parted, Saul heading for ultimate disgrace and death, and David to ultimate glory and victory