“David, Been There, Done That”
1 Samuel 26:1-25
Vs. 1-11 A bad habit
Vs. 12-20 To spear or to spare
Vs. 21-25 The value of life
Intro.
The events in the 26th chapter give us a sense of déjà vu which Webster’s dictionary describes as “a feeling that one has seen or heard something before”. There are even a few commentators who feel this is a compilation of chapter 23 and 24 where similar events are recorded. As similar as they are, they are not the same events as the location, time of day and other details are not the same. This has caused some to not bother teaching this chapter, as the similarities wouldn’t warrant teaching on something that they had already commented on before.
I look at it very differently, as it seems to me that the old adage is true, “Those that won’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them!” Recognizing that the Holy Spirit is the author of scripture and that He did not make a mistake in what chapters to include for our admonition causes me to search for the reason why the repetition of events. I believe the answer lies in the two final statements made by Saul and David to each other, both of which seem to sum up their lives. Saul says in verse 21 “I have played the fool and erred exceedingly”. The word “played” here does not refer to playing a part but rather the word is used for playing a musical instrument. So Saul sums up his life as a man whose melody and harmony of life was that of a fool and indeed even after this confession in the 28th chapter he consults a medium and in the 31st chapter commits suicide.
Ah but David’s life is also summed up by his words in verse 24 where he says, “let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD”. It seems to me that at any point in life we will be able to sum up our lives by one of those two epitaphs. Our lives will either be a melody of foolishness, or it will be one that is valued much in the eyes of the Lord. And how will we be able to tell if we have moved from one epitaph to the other? Well it will be seen in how you respond to similar events in your life, if you repeat the same mistakes then you are clearly not learning from them. My mother used to always tell me, “You’re not a fool for making mistakes only for not learning from them”!
A bad habit
Vs. 1-2 The scene before us is all too familiar for our two men and it poses a question, “Why do both of these men go back and do the same things they did before?”
David: We are told here that David went back to Ziph, which you will recall means “refinement”. Why would David go back to a region inhabited by “refiners” who only a short time before ratted him out to Saul for political gain? The Ziphites were from the same tribe as David, Judah but more specifically they were even more closely related to Nabal , “fool” as they also shared Caleb as an ancestor. Perhaps the answer lies in the psalm 54, which David wrote after his first encounter with the Ziphites; (The title of psalm tells us that it was written as contemplation when the Ziphites went to Saul). There in that seven-line hymn David says, “Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life… I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good… For He has delivered me out of all trouble”. I suggest to you that David went to Ziph because he had learned in refinement that the Lord was his helper the One that upheld his life and delivered him out of trouble. David did not dodge refinement, he headed right towards it even if it meant being betrayed by family. Is it any wonder then that his life was “valued much in the eyes of the LORD”?
Saul: Now consider if you will Saul who declared in 24:17 “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.” Finding Saul doing the same thing as he did for after having said those words leaves only two possibilities:
- He didn’t really mean what he said prior
- He had forgotten what he had learned: Either way it is clear that like David’s epitaph, Saul’s fits him as well as his life’s song is sung in the key of “Fool” major.
The Ziphites perhaps were worried that David was going to refine them a bit after their betrayal of David. Look at these two men a moment, David going from one tough experience to another and Saul continuing to fight against the Lord thinking that it is David he is battling instead of the man in the mirror. Again the epitaphs of these two men are evident in the way they saw education. Education? Yeh, David saw life as a classroom in which God was instructing him, equipping him for his future reign as King. Saul well he just hated the teacher and wanted to go out and play, and so to with us!
Vs. 3-4 In chapter 24:17 Saul had declared “You are more righteous than I” and based upon David’s response here he wanted to believe Saul’s words. He knows that the army is there but he sends out spies to see if indeed Saul had come with them. I can not speak for you but I must confess that I have a strong tendency to believe the “worst” in someone who has done me wrong instead of believing the “best”. Now with that said the fact that David sent spies and did not take his army indicates that it is one thing to believe the best and another to bank on it, as doing so would have risked his men’s life.
Furthermore it is interesting to note that Saul has a 3000 to 600 hundred-man advantage but still David knows where Saul is and Saul does not know where David is even after the Ziphites were acting as his scouts. Why is that? Well, Saul went to the hill of “darkness” (Hachilah) while David was content to stay in the wilderness of “refinement”. Here is my point: those who wish to have their life’s to be valued much in the eyes of the LORD will need to learn that dwelling in the wilderness of refinement always gives us a better view on life than making your “encampment” on the “hill of darkness”.
Let me spell this out for you, we are far too prone to seeking a better vantage point on life and others through the world’s ways. You see as we learn to make our home in the “low lands” of refinement you will find that the Lord only teaches through broken hearts not enlarged heads!
Vs. 5 After hearing from the spies that Saul was indeed among the 3000 David decides to go closer and the pursued becomes the pursuer. What David observes is very interesting he notes that Saul has placed his sleeping bag in the center of 3000 crack commando’s “the Green Bares” right next to Saul. Abner was Saul’s uncle and his name means, “my father is Ner” which I suppose would have helped Abner out if he ever got lost at the mall.
Vs. 6-7 David comes up with this plan to get into the midst of these commandos that are protecting the king and slip right next to Abner the bodyguard. Now notice he does not command others to go for him, nor does he command those to even go with him, instead he asks, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” A dictator says, “Go” a boss may say, “You will go!” Ah but a servant of the Lord says as David did, “Who will go?” Hey, Christian in authority we must be people who allow the Lord to lead not demand others to follow.
A-bi-shy (Abishai) is an interesting fellow as his name means “father of a gift”. We are further told here that he is the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab. Zeruiah is David’s half sister, which makes Abishai as well as his brother Joab and Asahel David’s cousins. They will all become leaders in David’s mighty men until Abner kills Asahel and Joab will avenge his death. So what we have here is a precursor to trouble between these families in the future.
By way of application I can’t help but notice how Saul and David’s actions represent their epitaphs.
Vs. 7 Saul: Who in verse 21 says, “I have played the fool and erred exceedingly”. It seems to me that Saul’s problems are illustrated by how he has arranged his camp. He has placed 3000 men, a bodyguard, a spear by his head and a jug of water and all of this is to protect himself from his own fears. Saul’s melody of life was so foolish because he protected himself from himself. Could it be that we far too often become those who surround ourselves with people to protect us from the one thing we need to rid ourselves from our own rebellion? Do you see what I mean? Saul’s self protection kept him in his position and ensured his slavery to self. Note the three things that Saul made sure were next to him so he could rest:
- A spear by his head: A spear to protect him and notice that it was near his head. Saul wanted to protect himself so he slept with his weapon under his pillow. What does that say? Well it says that he was a man tormented by fear, a man who thought, “I’d better be ready at all times.” Saul can’t find peace; he has no rest yet he is the one pursuing David. Oh, to us Saul’s the Lord says leave your spear child and “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
- Abner and the people lay all around: Saul has surrounded himself with those who will ensure that he remains the way he has been. And I can’t help but notice that they were all asleep. Those who were there by design to surround Saul and keep anyone or anything else away from him were just as he was, asleep and ineffective at their calling. Oh, if you want to spend your life stuck in the “warn out song of foolishness” just keep those around you who will continue to let you get away with sin and rebellion. Those who will pull up next to you to lay their head upon the pillow of compromise and wrap themselves with the temporary covers of complacency. Oh but if you want to sing a new song then heed the words of Hebrews and surround yourself with those who, “stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25)
- Vs. 11 A jug of water: At first though it seems to be a good idea to keep near Saul something to quench his thirst but was there no “living water” nearby? And if not why set up camp where there is no place to refresh oneself? A jug of water suggests to me that Saul was trying to maintain his condition while not seeking change his location. What? A canteen is only a temporary solution, it is that which is filled with stagnant water. Saul had his jug of confined lukewarm water just enough to take off the edge so he could continue going the direction he had been on. Oh did he not realize that he could have asked of the gift of God, and said ‘Give Me a drink,’ and He would have given him living water.” (John 4:10)
Vs. 7-11 In contrast to Saul we see David who in verse 24 says that his life , “valued much in the eyes of the LORD”. Here in these verses I see four things that indicate David was living by a different standard than Saul.
- Vs. 7 “So David and Abishai came to the people by night”: Boldness and Courage! How fascinating that David took with him “father of a gift”. As in Abigail’s name which means Daddy’s joy here we see that Abishai name means Daddy’s Gift. Ah who is our heavenly Fathers gift to you and I, is it not Jesus? No wonder we see David with such great boldness to walk right in the midst of all that darkness where all the people were asleep. Dear saint, we will be people of boldness as we walk into the camp of darkness why? Well, Daddy’s gift is right beside us. Our lives will all value much in the eyes of the Lord when we walk with Him even if our destination is into a camp full of those whose sole purpose is to kill us. If Saul sought to hide and protect himself from himself David faced his problems head on!
- Vs. 8-9 “Please, let me strike him at once with the spear….. Do not destroy him”: Those that live a life that is valued in the eyes of the Lord will people who (and note this) will seek to spare their enemies and not spear their enemies! Abishai sees the opportunity to kill Saul with his own spear, a little poetic justice as Saul was a spear chucker and you know the old saying “Live by the spear and you die by the spear”. To further the temptation Abishai begs permission to do it and promises that he can do it in one shot. I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if David had not gone through the experience with Nabal and seeing that the Lord took care of Nabal.
My point is that had David gone from Saul promising to learn from his errors to him again coming out to take his life he may have been tempted to say, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” David was a man who learned the lessons at hand and in this case he not only didn’t do wrong he kept Abishai from doing wrong. It is a person who seeks the Lord who knows that we can be tempted equally from friend as well as foe!
- Vs. 10 “As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.” Two wrongs do make a right, the saying goes but David has come to the conclusion that since the Lord placed Saul as King, only He has the right to remove him.
- the LORD shall strike him: Saul will just drop dead like Nabal
- his day shall come to die: Saul could just die in his old age
- he shall go out to battle and perish: Or Saul could die as he goes out to battle, and that is what shall happen a little while later.
- Vs. 11 “Please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” David took away that which enabled Saul to stay the way he had been and again I find there is a truth that sparing people from what they deserve is always better than spearing them. Oh how easy it would have been to allow Abishai to shish-kabob Saul but instead David takes away the things that allow Saul to not deal with himself as well as showing how inadequate his self protection was. David will see that the Lord had provided a deep sleep to come upon Saul and his men not to spear them but to rather spare Saul.
Vs. 12-20 To spear or to spare
Vs. 12-13 David gets away with anyone knowing and then he goes to a hill in the dark and calls out to Saul who was still very much in the Dark. Yet with David he could not read the next chapter in his life as we can for him he did not know what tomorrow held but he had something far better as he knew intimately Who held tomorrow. Hey Christian we are being trained in our ignorance of what lies beyond today but mark this well “today’s lessons are part of what we will need for what tomorrow holds”! God has already been to our next week, month and year. So much of my Christian life has been bound up doing the right thing the wrong way but David is living a life valued in the eyes of the Lord so he is doing the right thing the right way!
Vs. 14-16 Now I pray you allow me to put this into some of today’s language as David attempts to wake Saul and his army to the danger they are truly in.
Vs. 14a “Do you not answer, Abner?”: Hey, Mr. Big shot wake up!
Vs. 14b “Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”: Who ever is talking better be quiet or you’ll wake the King!
Vs. 15-16 “Hey, Abner, aren’t you suppose to be guarding the king some one could have taken his life and that would mean your life.” With all of Saul’s protection nothing could keep the Lord from taking him and David wanted to let Saul know this as to give him time to get his heart right. David truly cared more for the king than those whom the king had surrounded himself with.
Vs. 17 Saul wakes up a little sleepy and recognizes David’s voice in the dark but he still calls him his son which based upon 24:44 he was no longer as Saul had taken his wife and given her to another man.
Vs. 18-19 Though David does not call Saul his father he still refers to him as king and lord even though he is not acting as one.
Again David desires correction if he is wrong rather than insisting on his rights. “If the Lord has called you to chase me as a discipline then let me know and I’ll go and make it right with the Lord.”, David says. “But if this is being motivated by the flesh, then you’re going to be the one disciplined.” Furthermore David’s greatest regret was that his trial kept him from worshiping at the tabernacle. “You’re keeping me from Church and there aren’t any fellowships out where you are chasing me”, says David.
Vs. 20 “Don’t kill me without a cause, I’m not worth the effort.” The reference to the partridge is interesting as the birds are quite fast and they were killed by flushing them continually from bush to bush until they were unable to fly quickly then you would smack them with a club. So David likens his experience to that of a partridge in the mountains.
The value of life
Vs. 21-25 Saul again repeats his act of forgiveness by saying “he had sinned”, “played the fool” and “erred exceedingly”. Yet with an ever so slight hint Saul says, “Return, my son David.” To which in verse 22 David responds “I have the king’s sword come and get it!” David saw that his business was not with Saul and he but rather between himself and the Lord and whatever a man sows that also shall he reap. David does not need Saul to value his life; he already has the acceptance in the Beloved and nothing Saul did or didn’t do would take that away. These are the final words between the two and Saul ends his words with an affirmation of David yet an unchanged heart. He played the fool and though he put on, the instrument was still singing the tune.
May we hear what the Spirit has to say to us today and heed His word and surrender our lives more fully to Him!