1 Samuel 26
McGeeCHAPTERS 26 AND 27THEME: David again spares Saul’s life; David retreats to the land of PhilistiaDavid again spares Saul’s life in the wilderness of Ziph. Note the contrast between Saul and David. Obviously Saul knows that David is God’s choice, but he seeks to slay him. David recognizes that Saul is the anointed king, and he spares him.
1 Samuel 26:1
DAVID AGAIN SPARES SAUL’S LIFEHere goes Saul on another campaign, another crusade, to try to destroy David. This is what happened. David fled into the wilderness, and Saul went after him. David was a great soldier and he knew the terrain, which made him an expert general. He also had loyal men who were willing to die for him and with him. Saul did not know the terrain. Added to that, his followers were not as loyal as they could be, and Saul certainly suspected them.
1 Samuel 26:4
David could not believe that Saul would come into territory that was unfamiliar to him. It was a military blunder of such proportions that David sent spies out to see if Saul really was in the area. His scouts reported that Saul was indeed in the wilderness.
1 Samuel 26:5
David was in a position to observe where Saul and his men were, while he and his men were able to hide in the wilderness.
1 Samuel 26:6
David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp and looked around. Saul was sleeping in a trench, surrounded by his men. At the head of his bed he had stuck his spear in the ground.
1 Samuel 26:8
Abishai was saying to David, “If you just let me at him, I will strike him once. One blow is all I need, and you will be rid of your enemy.”
1 Samuel 26:9
Once again David has the opportunity to kill Saul, but he refuses. He will not raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed.
1 Samuel 26:10
David says, “God will have to take care of him.” David is acting upon the principle found in Heb_10:30, “…Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.”
1 Samuel 26:11
What David did was not difficult. He took Saul’s spear and cruse of water, and no one wakened because the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall upon Saul and his men.
1 Samuel 26:13
Now David withdrew from Saul’s camp, but he did not go back to his men. Instead he went way over on the other side of Saul’s camp and stood on the top of a hill. It was a place where he could easily escape if anyone came after him.
1 Samuel 26:14
Frankly, I think David is being sarcastic with Abner, who is Saul’s captain and should have been protecting him. David is ridiculing Abner. David is telling him that the king could have been destroyed. About this time the king and his men begin to wake up, and they wonder what has happened. Then David says, “Where is Saul’s spear and cruse of water? They are gone.” David probably held them up and said, “Look, I’ve got them.
I could have slain Saul, but I did not.” And that is the important thing: David did not slay the king. He had a wonderful attitude about the whole thing. God was going to handle this affair as far as David was concerned. It may be easy for us to criticize David, but do we today let God handle our enemies? We try to take things in our own hands and try to answer our accusers and deal with them ourselves. God says, “Let Me handle the situation, and you walk by faith.
Trust Me.” We are going to find out that David trusted the Lord, and He took care of Saul in time.
1 Samuel 26:25
Although again Saul admitted he was wrong and gave up his pursuit of David, David knew it was only a temporary respite. We find that David’s heart is becoming very discouraged. He is weary of this continual running away and hiding in the dens of the earth.