Havasu Christian Church
Series in I Samuel
November 10, 2024
I Samuel 24:1-22
"I don’t get mad… I get even!?!?!?"
INTRO: We have all had enemies…. It’s a fact of life that you won’t be appealing to everyone, and some of those folks will hate you!
David had that problem. Saul HATED him! Saul also had the ability to make good on his hatred of David. Saul has an Army!
If you recall from last week, David and his men have taken a hard journey and they are now at Engedi. The place with the beautiful waterfall and the lush plants all around. It was wonderful, but it wasn’t going to last. Saul is coming!
1 Samuel 24:1–22 Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.
4 The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.
5 It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.
6 So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.”
7 David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.
8 Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’?
10 “Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed.’
11 “Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it.
12 “May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.
13 “As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.
14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea?
15 “The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
16 When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.
18 “You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me.
19 “For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.
20 “Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.
21 “So now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s household.”
22 David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
- David had an enemy
- Saul saw to it that David had an enemy.
- He has been hating David
- He’s tried to kill him repeatedly.
- Now he’s hunting him like an animal.
- David had done nothing to deserve this treatment.
- Saul is doing evil.
- He has been using his job as the king to take care of himself, not his people.
- God has taken his future away from him.
- He’s taking it out on David.
- David was tested with an opportunity
- Saul goes into a cave to “relieve himself.
- After all a king needs his privacy.
- David and his men are hiding, deep in the cave.
- Picture this in your head… It’s a funny picture!
- Saul is taking care of business while David and company are just a short distance away!
- David could easily taken advantage of thisopportunity to kill Saul and be done with him.
- The men with him encourage him to kill Saul and be done with him.
- They even tell him it’s God’s will to do it.
- I suspect that almost no one in the Kingdom would have faulted him for doing it.
- I also suspect that the “3000 choice men” would have changed sides once Saul was dead.
- It appears that David was tempted enough to get close enough to kill Saul.
- Instead if Killing him, David cuts a piece off of Saul’s robe, I think, as a trophy.
- The Indian tribes in America would sometimes “count Coup” on an enemy.
From plainshumanities.unl.edu
Counting coup, or striking an enemy, was the highest honor earned by warriors participating in the intertribal wars of the Great Plains. Native peoples recognized precise systems of graduated war honors, and usually the greatest exploit was counting coup. Key to a man's success in Plains combat was demonstrating his own courage by proving superiority over his opponent and, in a competitive sense, over his own comrades. Killing was part of war, but showing courage in the process was more important for individual status. This was best accomplished by risking one's life in charging the enemy on foot or horseback to get close enough to touch or strike him with the hand, a weapon, or a "coupstick."
Humiliating the enemy also played a part in this fighting, as illustrated by an account from the Jesuit missionary Father Pierre-Jean De Smet. In De Smet's 1848 visit to the Oglala Lakotas, the Oglala leader Red Fish related to the priest how his men had just suffered a disgraceful defeat at the hands of the Crows. The Crows killed ten Oglalas, then chased the others for a distance. The Crows then were content merely to repeatedly count coup on their enemies with clubs and sticks, thus demonstrating to the Oglalas that they were not worth the ammunition needed to kill them.
- This was a way that David could humiliate Saul.
- David has a change of heart.
- David he finds himself feeling guilty for doing what he did to Saul.
- David shows himself, and he confronts Saul.
- He is humble in the way he confronts Saul.
- He prostrates himself before Saul.
- “I had the opportunity to do you harm, but I chose not to.”
- Let God judge who is right and who is wrong.
- Saul realizes the error of his way and responds.
- “You are more righteous than I.”
- If the situation was reversed, the outcome would have been MUCH different!
- You let me go when you could have killed me!
- The Lord “delivered me into your hand.”’
- But you let me go.
- That’s pretty unusual… God will reward you for what you’ve done today.
For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.
- God will give you my kingdom.
- I do ask for one thing: don’t kill my family!
- Why didn’t David take the opportunity in hand and kill Saul?
- David had compassion.
- You are almost never more defenseless than when you are in the position Saul is in.
- David “took pity” on him.
- David would not harm a man who was chosen by God to be king.
- God chose him to be king. How can I nullify the choice of God?
- who am I to kill him?
- David trusted God to take care of things.
- David knew that God would fulfill His promise at the right time.
- David didn’t have to take matters into his own hands and get revenge.
- Instead, he waited for God’s justice!
WHAT LESSONS SHOULD I TAKE HOME WITH ME TODAY FROM TODAY’S TEXT?
- Like David, we may have an enemy like Saul.
- Someone may choose to make you their enemy.
- You may have done nothing to deserve it.
- WHY would they do this?
- They may just be plain evil.
- They may be projecting their evil thoughts and actions onto you.
- “I know what I would do in this situation, so I know you would do the same to me.”
- They may hate you because you serve Jesus!
John 15:18–19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
If they hate Jesus, they will hate you!
Consider this a badge of honor!
- Like David, there will be times where we are tempted to take our own revenge.
Years ago, I blew past a guy in an old pickup. I was on a road that was unfamiliar to me. It had been raining and the road was slick. I went around a curve too fast and wound up in the ditch. The man stopped to help me. It would have been easy for him to say “serves him right!” and go right on driving, but instead, he stopped to help.
- We need to resist that temptation!
- Revenge doesn’t make us better in any way. Instead, it drags us down to the other’s level.
- We need to wait on the Lord’s justice!
- God will make things right!
- He may not do it on our timeline, but it will be done!
- Jesus had enemies.
- Jesus had the means to CRUSH them.
- Instead, He stuck to God’s plan and timing!
- Jesus will one day return for His Church.
- Jesus, “The Lamb that was slain,” will return as “The Lion of the tribe of Judah!”
- Live in a way that shows you are ready and waiting for His return!
