When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave. David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly. Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.”
Show the surrounding paragraph
1 Samuel 24:1-6 sits inside this longer paragraph.
When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave. David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly. Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.” So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and showed respect.
Parallel Translations
-
When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.”
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave.
David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly.
Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.”
-
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
Show all 3 translations
-
(24-2) And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying: 'Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.'
(24-3) Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
(24-4) And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
(24-5) And the men of David said unto him: 'Behold the day in which the LORD hath said unto thee: Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.' Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
(24-6) And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
(24-7) And he said unto his men: 'The LORD forbid it me, that I should do this thing unto my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD'S anointed.'
Cross-references (36)
- 1 Samuel 26:8-11 (v4) Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to…
- 2 Samuel 24:10 (v5) David’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. David said to Yahweh, “I have sinned greatly in that which I have done. But now,…
- 1 Samuel 24:10 (v4) Behold, today your eyes have seen how Yahweh had delivered you today into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you; but I spared you;…
- 1 Samuel 26:23 (v4) Yahweh will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; because Yahweh delivered you into my hand today, and I wouldn’t…
- Judges 3:24 (v3) After he had gone, his servants came and saw that the doors of the upper room were locked. They said, “Surely he is covering his feet in…
Show all 35 cross-references
- 1 Samuel 25:28-30 (v4) Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights Yahweh’s battles.…
- 2 Samuel 1:14 (v6) David said to him, “Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh’s anointed?”
- 1 Samuel 23:28-29 (v1) So Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth. David went up…
- 1 Samuel 26:9-11 (v6) David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said, “As…
- 2 Samuel 12:9 (v5) Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have…
- 2 Kings 22:19 (v5) because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh, when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against its…
- Job 31:29-30 (v6) “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to…
- Romans 12:14–13:2 (v6) Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind one…
- 1 John 3:20-21 (v5) because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have…
- 1 Samuel 23:7 (v4) Saul was told that David had come to Keilah. Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in by entering into a town that…
- 1 Samuel 23:17 (v4) He said to him, “Don’t be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father won’t find you; and you will be king over Israel, and I will be next to…
- 1 Samuel 23:19 (v1) Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the woods, in the hill of…
- 1 Samuel 24:18 (v4) You have declared today how you have dealt well with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up into your hand, you didn’t kill me.
- 1 Samuel 26:2 (v2) Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the…
- 1 Kings 21:3 (v6) Naboth said to Ahab, “May Yahweh forbid me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
- Psalms 57:1-11 (v3) Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until…
- Psalms 142:1-7 (v3) I cry with my voice to Yahweh. With my voice, I ask Yahweh for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles. When my…
- Proverbs 25:5 (v1) Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
- Proverbs 29:12 (v1) If a ruler listens to lies, all of his officials are wicked.
- Ezekiel 22:9 (v1) Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you.
- Hosea 7:3 (v1) They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
- Matthew 5:44 (v6) But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (v6) See that no one returns evil for evil to anyone, but always follow after that which is good for one another and for all.
- Psalms 141:6 (vv2–3) Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.
- 1 Samuel 13:2 (v2) Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one…
- 2 Samuel 4:8 (v4) They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy,…
- Job 31:31 (v4) if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
- Psalms 37:32 (v2) The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him.
- Psalms 38:12 (v2) They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
- Psalms 104:18 (v2) The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
35 distinct cross-references across this passage (36 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (26 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6 That is, in strong places, which were defensed by…
That is, in strong places, which were defensed by nature.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–6 1Sa 24:1 And it came to pass, when Saul…
1Sa 24:1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David [is] in the wilderness of Engedi.
Ver. 1. It was told him, saying.] They that told him knew what would please him - they found him out some new game: they knew his implacable spirit fraught with malice, and fomented it. Mithridates was so mad a hunter that, taken with that sport, for seven years’ space, neque urbis neque ruris tecto sit usus, saith the historian, he came not within any house in city or country. Saul was as madly set against David, whom he had lately seen must strangely snatched out of his hands.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Which the wild goats use to delight and climb…
Which the wild goats use to delight and climb into. These very rocks are exceeding steep, and full of precipices, and dangerous to travellers, as an eye-witness hath left upon record. And yet Saul was so transported with rage, as to venture himself and his army here, that he might take David, who, as he thought, would judge himself safe, and therefore be secure in such inaccessible places.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here, I. Saul renews his pursuit of David, Sa1…
Here, I. Saul renews his pursuit of David, Sa1 24:1, Sa1 24:2. No sooner had he come home safely from chasing the Philistines, in which it should seem he had good success, than he enquired after David to do him a mischief, and resolved to have another thrust at him, as if he had been delivered to do all these abominations, Jer 7:10. By the frequent incursions of the Philistines, he might have seen how necessary it was to recall David from his banishment and restore him to his place in the army again; but so far is he from doing this that now more than ever he is exasperated against him, and, hearing that he is in the wilderness of En-gedi, he draws out 3000 choice men, and goes with them at his feet in pursuit of him upon the rocks of the wild goats, where, one would think, David should not have been envied a habitation nor Saul desirous of disturbing him; for what harm could he fear from one who was no better accommodated? But it is not enough for Saul that David is thus cooped up; he cannot be easy while he is alive.
II. Providence brings Saul alone into the same cave wherein David and his men had hidden themselves, Sa1 24:3. In those countries there were very large caves in the sides of the rocks or mountains, partly natural, but probably much enlarged by art for the sheltering of sheep from the heat of the sun; hence we read of places where the flocks did rest at noon (Sol 1:7), and this cave seems to be spoken of as one of the sheep-cotes. In the sides of this cave David and his men remained, perhaps not all his men, the whole 600, but only some few of his particular friends, the rest being disposed of in similar retirements. Saul, passing by, turned in himself alone, not in search of David (for, supposing him to be an aspiring ambitious man, he thought to find him rather climbing with the wild goats upon the rocks than retiring with the sheep into a cave), but thither he turned aside to cover his feet, that is, to sleep awhile, it being a cool and quiet place, and very refreshing in the heat of the day; probably he ordered his attendants to march before, reserving only a very few to wait for him at the mouth of the cave. Some by the covering of the feet understand the easing of nature, and think that this was Saul's errand into the cave: but the former interpretation is more probable.
Read full note →
III. David's servants stir him up to kill Saul now that he has so fair an opportunity to do it, Sa1 24:4. They reminded him that this was the day which he had long looked for, and of which God had spoken to him in general when he was anointed to the kingdom, which should put a period to his troubles and open the passage to his advancement. Saul now lay at his mercy, and it was easy to imagine how little mercy he would find with Saul and therefore what little reason he had to show mercy to him. "By all means" (say his servants) "give him the fatal blow now." See how apt we are to misunderstand, 1. The promises of God. God had assured David that he would deliver him from Saul, and his men interpret this as a warrant to destroy Saul. 2. The providences of God. Because it was now in his power to kill him, they concluded he might lawfully do it.
IV. David cut off the skirt of his robe, but soon repented that he had done this: His heart smote him for it (Sa1 24:5); though it did Saul no real hurt, and served David for a proof that it was in his power to have killed him (Sa1 24:11), yet, because it was an affront to Saul's royal dignity, he wished he had not done it. Note, It is a good thing to have a heart within us smiting us for sins that seem little; it is a sign that conscience is awake and tender, and will be the means of preventing greater sins.
V. He reasons strongly both with himself and with his servants against doing Saul any hurt. 1. He reasons with himself (Sa1 24:6): The Lord forbid that I should do this thing. Note, Sin is a thing which it becomes us to startle at, and to resist the temptations to, not only with resolution, but with a holy indignation. He considered Saul now, not as his enemy, and the only person that stood in the way of his preferment (for then he would be induced to hearken to the temptation), but as God's anointed (that is, the person whom God had appointed to reign as long as he lived, and who, as such, was under the particular protection of the divine law), and as his master, to whom he was obliged to be faithful. Let servants and subjects learn hence to be dutiful and loyal, whatever hardships are put upon them, Pe1 2:18. 2. He reasons with his servants: He suffered them not to rise against Saul, Sa1 24:7. He would not only not do this evil thing himself, but he would not suffer those about him to do it. Thus did he render good for evil to him from whom he had received evil for good, and was herein both a type of Christ, who saved his persecutors, and an example to all Christians not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good.
VI. He followed Saul out of the cave, and, though he would not take the opportunity to slay him, yet he wisely took the opportunity, if possible, to slay his enmity, by convincing him that he was not such a man as he took him for. 1. Even in showing his head now he testified that he had an honourable opinion of Saul. He had too much reason to believe that, let him say what he would, Saul would immediately be the death of him as soon as he saw him, and yet he bravely lays aside that jealousy, and thinks Saul so much a man of sense as to hear his reasoning when he had so much to say in his own vindication and such fresh and sensible proofs to give of his own integrity. 2. His behaviour was very respectful: He stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself, giving honour to whom honour was due, and teaching us to order ourselves lowly and reverently to all our superiors, even to those that have been most injurious to us.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–6 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned…
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines,.... Having, as it should seem, got the victory over them, and driven them out of his country, and pursued them to their own:
that it was told him, saying, behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi; in the strong holds of it, the high rocks and mountains in it, Sa1 23:29.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Saul pursues David to Engedi, ver. 1, 2. David…
Saul pursues David to Engedi, ver. 1, 2. David cuts off his skirt, ver. 3-7. He reasons with Saul, ver. 8-15. Saul owns his fault, and returns home, ver. 16-22
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Saul is informed that David is at En-gedi, and…
CHAPTER XXIV
Saul is informed that David is at En-gedi, and goes to seek him
Read full note →
with three thousand men, 1, 2.
He goes into a cave to repose, where David and his men lay hid;
who, observing this, exhort David to take away his life: David
refuses, and contents himself with privily cutting off Saul's
skirt, 3-7.
When Saul departed, not knowing what was done, David called
after him; showed him that his life had been in his power;
expostulates strongly with him; and appeals to God, the Judge
of his innocence, 8-15.
Saul confesses David's uprightness, acknowledges his obligation
to him for sparing his life; and causes him to swear that, when
he should come to the kingdom, he would not destroy his seed,
17-21.
Saul returns home, and David and his men stay in the hold, 22.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXIV
Verse 1. Saul was returned] It is very probable that it was only a small marauding party that had made an excursion in the Israelitish borders, and this invasion was soon suppressed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2–5 1Sa 24:2. Upon the rocks of the wild goats…
1Sa 24:2. Upon the rocks of the wild goats — Which the wild goats used to delight in and climb over. These same rocks are exceeding steep, and full of precipices, and dangerous to travellers, as an eye-witness hath left upon record. And yet Saul was so transported with rage as to venture himself and his army here, that he might take David, who, as he thought, would judge himself safe, and therefore be secure in such inaccessible places.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–5 The rocks of the wild goats - To signify…
The rocks of the wild goats - To signify the craggy precipitous character of the country.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6 Engaddi, below Jericho, on the west side of the…
Engaddi, below Jericho, on the west side of the Dead Sea. It was famous for rocks and caverns. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 VI. David in the Wilderness of Engedi. He spares…
VI. David in the Wilderness of Engedi. He spares Saul in the cave. His conversation with Saul
Chap. 24. [Eng. A. V. 1Sa_23:29 to 1Sa_24:22]
Read full note →
29(1) And David went up from thence and dwelt in [ins. the] strongholds at [of] 1(2) Engedi.1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness 2(3) of Engedi. Then [And] Saul took three thousand chosen men [men chosen] out of all Israel; and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the 3(4) wild goats.2 And he came to the sheep-cotes by [on] the way, where [and there] was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet;3 and David and his 4(5) men remained [were abiding] in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord [Jehovah] said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then [And] David arose, and cut 5(6) off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. And it came to pass afterward that 6(7) David’s heart smote him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.4 And he said unto his men, The Lord [Jehovah] forbid5 that I should do this thing unto my master [lord], the Lord’s [Jehovah’s] anointed, to stretch forth mine 7(8) hand against him, seeing [for] he is the anointed of the Lord [Jehovah]. So [And] David stayed6 his servants [men] with these [om. these] words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But [And] Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8(9) David also [And David] arose afterward and went out of the cave and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when [om. when] Saul looked behind him, [ins. and] David stooped with his face to the earth and 9(10) bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest7 thou men’s 10(11) words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord [Jehovah] had [om. had] delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave, and some bade8 me kill thee; but [and] mine eye spared thee, and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for Hebrews 11(12) is the Lord’s [Jehovah’s] anointed. Moreover [And] my father,9 see, yea see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for, in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest10 12(13) my soul to take it. The Lord [Jehovah] judge between me and thee, and the Lord [Jehovah] avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee. 13(14) As11 saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked. 14(15) But my hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a [one]12 flea. 15(16) The Lord therefore [And Jehovah] be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver [judge]13 me out of thine hand.
16(17) And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words 17(18) unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded [done]14 me good, whereas [and] I have rewarded 18(19) [done] thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me,15 forasmuch as when the Lord [Jehovah] had [om. had] delivered 19(20) me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For, if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord [Jehovah] reward 20(21) thee good for that [what] thou hast done unto me this day.16 And now, behold I know well [om. well] that thou shalt surely be king,17 and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord [Jehovah] that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, 22(23) and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home [to his house], but [and] David and his men gat them up into18 the hold.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1Sa_24:1-8 [29–27]. David’s abode in Engedi and his meeting there with Saul in a cave.
1Sa_24:1 [1Sa_23:29]. Engedi the present Ain Jidy (Jeddi), “Fountain of the kid” (’Εγγαδί, ’Εγγαδαί, Ptol. 5, 16, 8), about the middle of the west shore of the Dead Sea, about thirteen miles north-east of Maon on the border of the wilderness of Judah, in a mountainous region with limestone-soil, with precipitous rocks and deep gorges which run towards the Dead Sea, and with many caves in the limestone-hills. It belonged to the then few very fruitful regions of the wilderness of Judah.—[For a good account of Engedi with its magnificent scenery, its frightful and dangerous rock-passes and its many roomy caverns, see Bib. Com. in loco. Thomson, in “The Land and the Book,” speaks of the wild goats still to be found there.—Tr.]
1Sa_24:2 [1Sa_24:1] sq. The obstinacy of Saul’s adherence to his bloody plan against David appears in the fact that immediately after his campaign against the Philistines, perhaps even before they were completely overthrown, he again sends out spies against David, and sets out with a large body of warriors (3000) in order to seize him. He sees in him a rival king, against whom he must march fully equipped, and whom he must destroy by a superior force of disciplined troops. The ibex-rocks, so called by the people perhaps, because from their steepness and wildness the ibexes or wild-goats could subsist there. See Rob. II. 432 [Am. Ed. I. 500]. Mountain-goats still abound there. In the hardly accessible gorges and caves Saul with his men sought David and his followers, rightly supposing that the latter, being few in number, would seek to hide in this region so full of hiding-places. There were and are caves there wherein thousands might hide.—The words: The sheepcotes on the way indicate (like the “ibex-rocks”) a well-known locality, which from its fruitfulness in this otherwise waste region served for the abode of flocks. [Thomson saw many sheepfolds at the mouths of caves; they were made by piling stones up in a circle and covering them with thorns.—Tr.]. Saul looks out a cave in the vicinity to cover his feet, that is, to obey a call of nature, when the Orientals usually cover their feet (the ancient Vss. [except Syr.], Keil, Then.), not: “to sleep” (Mich., Ew. [Syr.]). David and his men abode within or in the back of the cave [1Sa_24:4 (3)], while Saul was in front not far from the entrance. The description supposes a very large cave, of such as are numerous there. But whether this cave is to be identified (as Van de Velde supposes) with the one near the village Chareitun in the Wady of the same name southwest of the Frank Mountain and north-east of Tekoa (it is a limestone arch with many side-passages and wide dark rear-spaces) is uncertain, inasmuch as the latter on account of its proximity to Tekoa would be reckoned to the wilderness of Tekoa rather than to the wilderness of Engedi, and besides is from fourteen to nineteen miles from Engedi, which does not seem to have been the case with the one here described. [De Saulcy (B. Com.) suggests Bir-el-Mauquouchieh near Wady Hasasa as the place.—Tr.].
1Sa_24:5 [4]. David’s men advise him to seize this opportunity, given him, as they think, by God, to rid himself of his deadly foe. See, this is the day of which the Lord said to thee.—The Lord’s “saying” can here be understood only in the general sense of the divine ordering of this favorable opportunity. This day, with its fortunate meeting, seemed to them a hint and direction from God. A reference to a definite divine declaration,19 given to David through a prophet (Clericus: “There would come a time when, his enemies all conquered and prostrate, he would peacefully govern Israel”) is not in the words themselves.—Saul had laid aside his upper garment [robe] for his present purpose [or, remaining on him, it may have been spread out.—Tr.]. The situation was such that David could, without being observed, cut off a corner of the upper garment. David wished to have in hand this sign that Saul had been defenceless in his power, and that he could have killed him, in order to use it with Saul at the proper time. His heart smote him, not with fright at the bold undertaking (Then., Ew.), for the deed was already done, but in the ethical sense: his conscience smote him. From what follows it is clear that David regarded Saul’s person as sacred; he reproached himself with having secretly cut off a piece of his garment, and thus failed in reverence for his person. Cler.: “David was afraid that Saul would take this, though a clear sign of (David’s) magnanimity, in bad part, and regard it as a violation of his royal majesty.”
1Sa_24:7 [6]. The decisive and solemn rejection of the advice of the warriors to assail Saul. Be it far from me from the Lord, that is, on the Lord’s account; it is a religious ground which restrains him from following the advice of his men. For God’s sake he will not do it, because Saul is the anointed of the Lord, a person made sacred by the Lord. And therefore also David could not have received command from the Lord to deal with Saul according to his good pleasure.
1Sa_24:8 [7]. “David cut down his men with words” (שָׁסַּע “to rend, cut to pieces,” then figuratively “cut down with words” verbis dilaceravit), Luther “beat back” (abweisen), too weak [so Eng. A. V. “stayed.”—Tr.]; Berl. Bib. better: “pulled away” (abreissen). David was obliged to hold back his men with reproving words from taking bloody vengeance on Saul. We must suppose that Saul went alone into the cave at a distance from his people, and did not suspect that such a body of men lay immediately behind his back.
1Sa_24:9-22 [8–22]. The conversation of David and Saul at a distance.
1Sa_24:9 [8]. David uses this God-given opportunity to assure his persecutor of his innocence, and to lodge a sting in his conscience. His words are a declaration (wrung out by suffering) from heart to heart, from conscience to conscience. The address: My Lord, O king! indicates the double point of view whence David in what follows declares by deed and by word his relation and attitude to Saul. He recognizes and honors Saul as his lord to whom he feels himself bound to be subject; in calling him his lord he declares himself guiltless of insurrection against him. In the king he sees the anointed of the Lord, the bearer of the holy theocratic office, in which character he was inviolable. In calling him king he affirms that he is far from attacking his person and working him harm. To this address corresponds David’s behaviour, his gesture of deepest reverence: he bent his face to the earth and bowed himself.
1Sa_24:10 [9]. David refers first to the calumnies by which he had been blackened to Saul as his enemy seeking his destruction. Compare the title of Psalms 7., which refers to the present situation; there were calumniating go-betweens, one of whom was the otherwise unknown Benjamite Cush, who stood, therefore, in the same category with the Ziphites and Doeg. Saul hearkened to these slanders and believed them, because his heart was full of mistrust and hate against David.
1Sa_24:11 [10]. David expressly represents it as a divinely ordered circumstance that Saul was put into his power. He also expressly affirms that the temptation to kill him was presented to him (אָמַר “one said” as in 1Sa_23:22), but at the same time declares that he spared him; to the “spared” of the Heb. supply “my eye” [so Eng. A. V.—Tr.], as in Gen_45:20; Deu_7:16 (so most expositors) or “my hand” or “my soul” (Cler.). He further gives the reason which deterred him from laying hand on Saul, his lord: for he is the Lord’s anointed.—By the royal anointing, as a divine act, Saul’s person was for him sacred, inviolable.
1Sa_24:12 [11]. And my father; with this address David passes from his relation to Saul as king to the divinely ordered relation which he occupied towards him as father. To this “my father” answers Saul’s “my son.” David calls Saul father not (as Grotius thinks) because he was his father-in-law, but to indicate the pious20 feeling which so fills his heart as he speaks, that he involuntarily breaks out into this address. See 1Sa_24:17 [16] and 1Sa_26:17.—See, yea see.—A lively introduction of the factual proof of what he had just said that Saul had been given into his hand so that he could have done to him what he would. The “yea” (גַּם) is here intensive, not merely copulative (Ges. § 155, 2 a). The skirt of the upper garment in David’s hand is to be at the same time ocular proof that David is innocent of the wicked accusations brought against him by the calumniators. With his innocence, set forth in heaped up words: “in my hand is no evil nor transgression, and I have not sinned against thee,” he next contrasts (with the adversative phrase “and thou” and in curt, incisive words) Saul’s criminal conduct towards him: Thou workest after my soul, properly “huntest my soul;” Cler.: “A very suitable phrase concerning a man whom his enemy was pursuing like a beast over mountains and forests;” Sept.: “bindest,” with allusion to the nets of the hunter, and so, in accordance with this figure, it is added: to take it, Vulg. ut auferas eam.
1Sa_24:13 [12] is similarly to be taken from the point of view that he has no evil design against Saul.—The Lord will judge between me and thee, that is, though the Lord gave thee into my hand, I attempted, and shall attempt nothing against thee, because I leave the decision wholly to the Lord. Here speaks submission to God’s will, leaving to him the decision concerning right and wrong, innocence and guilt. And the Lord will avenge me of thee,—the expression of David’s confidence that for his guilty conduct towards his (David’s) innocence Saul will not go unpunished, that against him will be manifested the weight of the divine punitive justice.—But my hand shall not be against thee, as I have hitherto been, so I will continue to be pure from crime against thee; God’s hand will punish thy injustice towards me, my hand shall not touch thee.
1Sa_24:14 [13]. David grounds this declaration of innocence on the reference to its inner foundation and root by means of an “old proverb:” from the evil comes evil, evil doing springs from an evil heart. Cler. well explains: “David means to say that if he had been guilty of conspiracy against the king, he would not have neglected this favorable opportunity to kill him, since men usually indulge their feelings, and from a mind guilty of conspiracy nothing but corresponding deeds could come forth.” Compare the Greek proverb: κακοῦ κόρακος κακὸν ὠόν [“from a bad raven a bad egg,” see Mat_7:15-20.—Tr.]—Grotius: “Actions usually correspond to the quality of the mind.” The repetition of the words: “but my hand shall not be against thee,” after the proverb is the declaration of innocence: “I am not wicked and criminal, and, therefore, according to the old proverb, I shall undertake and do nothing evil against thee, wreak no vengeance on thee.”
1Sa_24:15 [14] David points out how foolish, superfluous and unroyal is Saul’s persecuting campaign against a mean, undangerous man like him. Grot.: “A very pathetic appeal and a proof of David’s very great modesty.” Comp. Psalms 131. The king of Israel is with special emphasis made to follow the “after whom?” in contrast with the position and significance of the person persecuted by him. With the king of Israel adorned with honor and power David contrasts himself under the figure of a dead dog: 1) as a despised, lowly, qualitatively insignificant man, comp. 1Sa_17:43; 2Sa_3:8, where the figure of a dog represents a man despicable in the eyes of one who is, or is supposed to be of high standing; 2) as a harmless, or in no wise dangerous man, comp. the figure of the dead dog, 2Sa_9:8; 2Sa_16:9.—The comparison with the flea adds the idea of the quantitatively petty, mean, comp. 1Sa_26:20. “Wherefore,” would David say, “O thou mighty king of Israel, dost thou summon thy army against so little and insignificant a man?” Berl. Bib.: “against a single flea, which is not easily caught, and easily escapes, and if it is caught, is poor game for a royal hunter.” No more than a dead dog can harm, and a flea endanger thee, am I, apart from the fact that I have no wish thereto, in position to work thee destruction.
1Sa_24:16 [15]. Therefore—because Saul persecutes him unjustly as an innocent man, and foolishly as an undangerous man, because he, David, is unjustly slandered and persecuted as a malicious enemy of Saul—he appeals to the Judge who alone is just and gives success to a righteous cause. Two things David here says: 1) he repeats his appeal to the judicial decision of the Lord (1Sa_24:13 [12]), and 2) declares his firm conviction that the Lord will by such decision help him to his rights against Saul: He will conduct my cause, that is, the just God, before whom I am not only consciously, but really innocent, will be my advocate, undertake my cause; and do me justice from thy hand, I shall be delivered out of thy hand, freed from the sufferings which thou preparest me. A zeugmatic construction.—[Rather a pregnant construction: “will judge me (and thus deliver me) from thy hand.”—Tr.]21
1Sa_24:17 [16]. Saul’s answer to these words of David shows that they deeply and powerfully impressed his mind and sharply pricked his conscience. The address: Is that thy voice, my son David? indicates by its soft, mild tone that David’s words, issuing from a deeply-moved heart, and in the “my father” and “thou king of Israel, my lord,” expressing profound piety and reverence, had struck a chord in Saul’s inner life on the side of feeling and disposition, which he could not help letting sound forth in this address counter to the fierceness and hate that otherwise possessed him. The sign of this sudden awakening of nobler feeling is Saul’s weeping aloud. There is no hypocrisy or pretence here. Saul, tossed powerless hither and thither by fierce passions without self-control and without harmony of soul-life, is here laid hold of in a hidden corner of his heart, where he was still accessible to the power of truth, and involuntarily yields to this nobler arousing of his soul, though it is not destined to be permanent.
1Sa_24:18 [17]. On this psychologically so significant address follows the ethically so important confession: Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast done me good, and I have done thee evil.—This proves that his conscience was touched by David’s word, which had so sharply contrasted innocence and baseless persecution, righteousness and unrighteousness. Saul must do honor to the truth; the overwhelming force of David’s words, founded in truth, forces this confession from him; though a thorough and permanent change for the better is not thereby effected in his heart. Grotius: “The confession is unwillingly extorted, the mind being nothing bettered.” But we see from this of how high a degree of good Saul was capable, if he had been willing to deny himself. The mode in which David’s word so struck his conscience that he was compelled involuntarily to acknowledge his innocence and the justice of his cause is indicated by his own words; it was his perception of the glaring contrast between his evil, destructive operations against David, and the wholly opposite conduct of the latter, who did only good to the hostile king: The requital of evil with good. Saul thinks of all the good that David had done him by his faithful service. By right moral conduct, absolutely accordant with God’s holy will, and simple avowal springing from truth and from the heart, a deep impression for the better may under certain circumstances be made on the corruptest and most hardened nature.
1Sa_24:19 [18]. In proof of this affirmation Saul adduces David’s present behaviour, which is distinguished from the preceding: “thou hast done me good.”—And thou hast to-day showed, hast given a proof of what good thou hast done to me, namely therein, that the Lord had delivered me into thy hand;22 Saul also here recognizes the fact that it was God’s hand that had to-day delivered him into David’s hand, in contrast with his previous declarations that God had given David into his hand, 1Sa_23:7.—But thou didst not kill me, thou didst not use the opportunity given thee by God’s providence, because thou wishest not to avenge thyself on me, and thinkest only good towards me. All this is a splendid justification of David and confirmation of the assertions that he made to Saul.
1Sa_24:20 [19]. Thenius, from the Sept., Syr. and Arab., undertakes to restore the supposed original text of this verse as follows: 1) after “his enemy,” we are to hold, stood originally “in straits” (בַּצָּרָה). Thenius thinks this reading “necessary,” since one might find his enemy without having opportunity to hurt him; but this opportunity is especially afforded when he finds him in angustiis, “in straits.” But this is a hair-splitting and far-fetched argument, since the connection does not leave it doubtful what is meant by finding the enemy. “Find” here as in 1Sa_23:17; Psa_21:9 [8]; Isa_10:10, means so to come upon as to affect with suffering or punishment,=“get into one’s power.” 2) After טוֹבָה [Eng. A. V. after “well away.”—Tr.] Then, supposes “the Lord will reward him good” to have fallen away, and 3) instead of the last words of the verse, to have originally stood: “the Lord reward thee good for what thou hast to-day done to me.” But the authority of the versions is the less decisive here, because their purpose is obvious, to avoid a harshness and produce conformity. They included the whole sentence in the protasis: “if one find his enemy and send him away,” and there was no apodosis. To supply this apodosis and correspondingly to express the good which Saul afterwards wishes David, they added: “the Lord will reward him good.”—The words, as they stand in the text, give even according to Thenius a “tolerable sense;” yea more, they give a satisfactory sense if we translate: If one find his enemy, will he let him go on a good way (a peaceful, unimperilled way)? that is, it is usual, when one has his enemy in his power, not to let him go in peace untouched. In the lively feeling with which Saul speaks, the omission of the intermediate thought, the expression of which might be expected, namely, “so hast thou not acted towards me,” is quite natural. The negative answer to this question is omitted (an omission psychologically easily understood), and immediately follows the wish: The Lord reward thee good for what thou hast this day done to me. (So Maur., De Wette, Buns., Keil.) That Saul at this moment truly and honestly meant these words, is beyond doubt; it is the witness not only of a bright, but also of a good moment in his inner life, though indeed no deep and permanent improvement followed. Under the influence of David’s presence and words the evil spirit had for a moment yielded to the good.
1Sa_24:21 [20] sq. Following the better impulse of his heart Saul sees clearly that the theocratic kingship will pass from him and his house to David, and only through him as its future bearer be permanently established. How did Saul come to this knowledge which he here expresses, and which Jonathan had already affirmed that his father had (1Sa_23:17)? Not through direct divine revelation, but by the observation that all his undertakings against David were unsuccessful, and that David in respect to his persecutions was under special divine protection, coupled with the recollection of what Samuel had once said to him in the name of God respecting his rejection for disobedience. The declaration of his conscience: “Thou art rejected by God” was confirmed by the manifest signs of divine guidance and protection in David’s life, and by the imposing moral power of David’s conduct. Cler.: “From this great magnanimity of David he concluded that a man who was much superior in soul to kings could not but reign.” Two things he says: 1) “Thou wilt become king,” and 2) “in thy hand the kingdom will be permanently established,” not “will be raised up, grow, increase” (Gramb.). So far has the dark cloud of envy and hate passed away from Saul’s soul, that he not only recognizes and affirms David’s future kingship, but to him as future king prefers a request in the form of an adjuration, that he would show royal kindness and mercy to his house and name. David gave him the promise in an oath that he would not after his death exterminate his posterity, as was often the case in changes of dynasty in the East, and, as Keil well points out, repeatedly occurred also in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. 1Ki_15:28 sq.; 1Sa_16:11 sq.; 2 Kings 10. Similar request by Jonathan 1Sa_20:15. [Bib.-Com.: “The deep genealogical feeling of the Israelites breaks out here as so often elsewhere.” Saul’s declaration as to David’s future kingship is not divine prophecy, but human foresight.—Tr.]
1 Samuel 24:23 [22]. The description of the interview, so significant for both parties to it, concludes with the statement that Saul went to his residence, while David with his men went up into the strong and secure mountain-heights. The latter did not return home, because he could not expect that Saul would retain this disposition and essentially change his bearing towards him.—Cler.: “He knew Saul’s changeable and perfidious nature, and was afraid of his snares.” [Nor, apparently, did Saul invite or expect him to go home. His presence at court would have been embarrassing; his training in the fields is to continue yet some time.—Tr.]
HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL
1. This incident of David’s life in 1 Samuel 24 (not 26) forms the basis of Psalms 7 (of which he is the author), which is rich in references to this event and whose title: “Shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush the Benjaminite,” giving the slanderous accusations of this man as the occasion of the Psalm, presents a situation identical with that of 1Sa_24:10 [9] of 1 Samuel 24. There were men who, by all sorts of slanders, blackened David with Saul, and inflamed his hate against him. Among these, according to the title, was the Benjaminite Cush. The Benjaminites, on account of the tribal relationship, were pronounced adherents of Saul, and he had bound them to him by all sorts of favors (comp. 1Sa_22:7). Cush is not a symbolical name for a man of black wickedness, namely here for Saul (to whose father’s name Kish, Hengstenberg and Kimchi see an allusion), but the proper name of a Benjaminite man, one of those slanderers and go-betweens, whose mention in the title of this Psalm (the situation in which accords throughout with that in 1 Samuel 24) is a supplement to the allusion in 1Sa_24:10. How the content of the Psalm is based on David’s assertion of innocence and confident appeal to God which is given here in 1 Samuel 24. is clear from the train of thought: After the singer’s introductory cry for help, 1Sa_24:2-3 [1, 2] follows the affirmation of freedom from revenge and of innocence as to the accusations made against him (pointing to 1Sa_24:5-8; 1Sa_24:18-19 [4–7, 17, 18]), 1Sa_24:4-6 [3–5]. On this is based (see 1Sa_24:13-16 [12–15]) the appeal to the Lord for execution of His judgment, to which he submits in firm confidence and good conscience, 1Sa_24:7-10 [6–9]. To this is added (see 1Sa_24:16 [15]) avowal of trust in the help of the righteous God, and in the self-prepared destruction of the unrighteous, 1Sa_24:11-17 [10–16]. In conclusion the vow of thanksgiving [1Sa_24:17.]—What Delitzsch excellently says of the character of the Psalm: “It is the most solemn pathos of lofty self-consciousness, that here speaks,—anxious unrest, defiant self-trust, triumphant upsoaring, confident trust, prophetic certainty, all these tones find expression in the irregular strophe-sequence of this Davidic dithyramb,” all this is found substantially in David’s words to Saul.—Hengstenberg’s statement of the didactic content of the Psalm: “There is a twofold didactic element in the Psalm: 1) it is a necessary condition of divine help that one lift up pure hands to God, and 2) this condition being fulfilled, the divine righteousness vouches for the absolute certainty of the deliverance,” answers precisely in both points to the two fundamental thoughts of David’s address (1 Samuel 24) to Saul: 1) I am innocent, and therefore sure of divine help, and 2) God’s justice will bring my innocence to light, and punish my unrighteous persecutors.
2. As fundamental traits in the religious-moral character of David appear in this section the following: magnanimous forbearance towards his enemy providentially given into his hand, decided repulse of the temptation to revenge on him, tenderness of conscience whereby his heart smote him for appropriating a piece of Saul’s garment, frank and bold affirmation of his innocence against slanders and persecutions, reverent piety towards the sacred person of the Lord’s chosen and the de facto theocratic king, the confidence of a good conscience, and the patient waiting of a mind resigned to God’s dispensations in respect to the severe sufferings appointed him, and the expected decision of the divine justice, love of enemies which not only puts far away revenge, but repays evil with good, firm confidence in God’s justice (having its root in humility), with which in the consciousness of innocence he appeals to the highest tribunal, clear knowledge of the ways of the divine justice, whose aim is the maintenance of the divinely-appointed holy order of his kingdom (namely, that the unrighteously introduced evil be punished), and hope in the saving help of God founded on faith in God’s justice. “That David was magnanimous towards enemies, that, when his foe was through chance in his hands, instead of satiating his vengeance, he sent him reverently away, is wholly in keeping with his nature, and in the song Psa_7:5 [4] is referred to by him briefly and incidentally, but clearly enough; that to Saul himself, even when there would have been the most favorable opportunity to inflict grievous injury on him, he could do no bodily harm, follows immediately from the idea itself of the ‘Anointed of God’ which filled his soul” (Ew., III., 130).
3. The old proverb: “From the evil comes evil” (1Sa_24:14 [13] expresses the truth that the moral character of the man necessarily determines his conduct; the ethical actus is always the expression of the ethical habitus; the precise nature of the inner life, whether in good or in evil, the ethical character of the personality shows itself in the man’s outward doing. It is the same truth which is expressed in the New Test. declaration: “As the tree so the fruit” (Mat_7:17).
4. The simple self-presentation and self-witness of moral purity and truth (as here in David in word and deed) has a great missionary power, and often makes a mighty impression on spiritually darkened and morally perverted natures (as Saul’s here) in such wise that the divine in them is freed from the binding power of the evil, and the religious-moral element of the conscience, which is concealed deep under religious-moral corruption, breaks freely forth, at least in some bright and good moments, in order to point to the way of salvation and show the possibility of deliverance, provided the man is willing to be saved and renewed.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1Sa_24:3 [2]. S. Schmid: How much it were to be wished that the pious would apply as much diligence to the practice of good as the ungodly do to the practice of evil (Rom_6:19).
1Sa_24:5 [4]. Wuert. Bib.: It happens quite often that men seek to mislead us by an apparent application of the Word of God; let us therefore prove all things and hold fast that which is good (Mat_4:6). [Hall: Those temptations are most powerful which fetch their force from the pretence of a religious obedience.—Tr.]
1Sa_24:6-7 [5, 6]. Cramer: It is a praiseworthy virtue to be able to conquer one’s self, and he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city (Pro_16:32).—Schlier: David really gained a greater victory at this moment than formerly in the fight against Goliath.—Let us be master over ourselves, let us fight against our anger and overcome the enemy in our own heart. It is a wonderful, every way instructive and shame-inspiring sight, the fugitive David protecting his deadly foe against the hand of his friends. [Chrysostom remarks that David had reason to fear lest his men should rebel and do violence to him if he spared their common enemy; also that they were very cunning in not suggesting revenge—to which they knew David would not incline—but the pious recognition of God’s hand.—Taylor: No doubt it might be said that God had rejected Saul, and had caused David to be anointed in his room; but that had not given to David the right to deal summarily with Saul; it had only indicated that when, in the course of Providence, Saul should be removed, David would be set upon his throne. For this, therefore, David would wait. He would not take Providence into his own hands. He would bide God’s time, and it should not be said for him that he had come into the kingdom by the assassination of his predecessor. Even his cutting off a portion of Saul’s robe caused him some misgivings of heart, the rather as perhaps after he had done it, his men, emboldened by his example, might have felt themselves at liberty to go farther, and lay hands on the king himself. If any such disposition was manifested by them, it was immediately repressed by their leader.—Tr.]—Hall: Tender consciences are moved to regret at those actions, which strong hearts pass over with a careless ease.
1Sa_24:8 [7]. Schmid: What one cannot himself do with a good conscience, he must also not permit those to do whom he has to command. [This holds good only within certain limits.—Tr.]—Starke: We must not yield even to our dearest and best friends when they desire from us something wrong.
1Sa_24:9 [8]. Schlier: How instructive is this union of reverence with genuine manly spirit! It is a servant of the Lord who speaks—a servant of the Lord filled with fear of God.—Modesty and respect are becoming to a Christian in all cases. But that does not exclude us from also telling the truth, with all modesty, to be sure, but yet with all candor.
1Sa_24:10 [9]. Osiander: One must not lay his hand on even an ungodly ruler.
1Sa_24:12 [11]. S. Schmid: That is the highest love towards God and one’s neighbor, when any one restrains himself from revenge in such a manner that he returns his enemy good for the highest wrong (Rom_12:21).—Berl. Bib.: As men are, so are their actions. As the tree, so is the fruit. What the heart is full of, the mouth runs over with and the hands work at and accomplish. 1Sa_24:16 [15]. Osiander: God is advocate, judge, avenger and protector for those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.
1Sa_24:17 [16]. Starke: A good word finds a good reception often even with the most corrupt men.
1Sa_24:18 [17]. Berlenburg. Bible: See how David’s patience works upon Saul, and how one may heap coals of fire upon the heads of his enemies (Pro_25:22). Try this means on thy unfriendly and perverse neighbor or relative (Rom_12:20).
1Sa_24:20 [19]. Cramer: A mighty thing is the truth. Therefore, if thy brother sins against thee, go and rebuke him between thee and him alone (Mat_18:15).—S. Schmid: The ungodly, too, must at last confess that it is right for God to requite the righteous according to their righteousness.
1Sa_24:21-22 [20–22]. Cramer: To be able to constrain and win an enemy with good words, gentleness and modesty, is the noblest victory (Pro_15:1).—Osiander: Enemies are often overcome much sooner by good deeds than by force.—S. Schmid: What God has according to His wise counsel designed for His pious and upright servants, must become theirs, although the ungodly with all their powers set themselves against it and begrudge it to them; yea, at last the ungodly must themselves confess that their efforts against it are in vain.—Schlier: How often we think, too, as soon as good thoughts and feelings stir in us, that already it is all done; how often we think with a couple of good purposes and resolutions to get to the end! O believe it though: before all things there must be a change towards the living God, before all things must we bow before God, before all things confess our sins to Him; the first thing and the most necessary of all is repentance! That is the only way there can be a real and thorough change. (See above “Hist. and Theolog.”)
[1Sa_24:4. Providential purpose, apparent and real. 1) What was here the apparent purpose of God? To give an injured man opportunity for delivering and avenging himself. He was strongly tempted: a) It was indeed a “special providence” of an extraordinary and very striking kind (comp. 1Sa_5:10). b) He had been cruelly wronged, by friend (1Sa_23:12) and foe, and there seemed no other hope of deliverance from this perpetual persecution, c) His followers insisted on his embracing the tempting opportunity, and might rebel if he refused. 2) How did he know that such could not be the purpose of Providence? Because it would involve his doing what was wrong in itself (1Sa_24:5-6; 1Sa_24:10). An enlightened and tender conscience must check our interpretations of Providence. 3) What was the real Providential purpose? As usual, it was manifold: we can see the following points: a) To make him more conscientious by obeying conscience under sore temptation (1Sa_24:5-6). b) To present a noble example to his rude followers and the people at large (1Sa_24:6; 1Sa_24:10). c) To furnish a most convincing proof that he was wrongly accused (1Sa_24:9-11). d) To give him ground for a confident appeal to Providence in future (1Sa_24:12 sq.; comp. 1Sa_26:23-24). e) To heighten his reputation for loyalty and magnanimity, and smooth the way to his finally becoming king (comp. 1Sa_24:20).
[1Sa_24:1-15. David’s magnanimity. (Group homiletically the materials indicated in “Hist. and Theol.,” No. 2.)
[1Sa_24:13. A Bible proverb before Solomon: 1) Habitual bad conduct proves bad character. 2) Habitual good conduct, notwithstanding tempting occasions for wickedness, proves that the character is not bad. 3) It is well when one can appeal to his actions as supporting his words and proving the purity of his motives.
[1Sa_24:9-15. A good man defending himself against suspicion and slander: 1) He remonstrates against listening to slanderous accusers (1Sa_24:9). 2) He sets forth his actions as showing that the charges are false (1Sa_24:10-11; 1Sa_24:13). 3) He declares the persecution of him to be utterly unbecoming in a person of high position (1Sa_24:14). 4) He solemnly appeals to God: a) to plead his cause, b) to deliver him, c) to punish his persecutor, which he will not himself do (1Sa_24:12; 1Sa_24:15; comp. Psalms 7.).
1Sa_24:16-22. Temporary amendment in a fallen man: 1) Its occasion—an exhibition of magnanimous kindness touches his better feelings. 2) Its signs. a) Bitter weeping, b) Frank confession (1Sa_24:17). c) Prayer that a man he has been wronging may be blessed of God (1Sa_24:19). d) Acknowledgment that this man is not only better than himself, but has a righteous cause (1Sa_24:20). e) Abandonment of his attempts to wrong the other. 3) Why the amendment proves only temporary: a) It is only matter of feeling, not of principle (1Sa_24:16). b) He is thinking more of his own interests than of justice to another (1Sa_24:21). c) He does not really return to God, but only softens towards a man. d) Sooner or later comes a fresh temptation (1Sa_26:1 sq.).—Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1][1Sa_23:29 (1). See the various VSS. in this verse as an illustration of the uncertainty in proper names.—Tr.]
[2][1Sa_24:2 (3). “On the face of the rocks.” Possibly we have here a proper name, the Jeelim or ibex-rocks.—Tr.]
[3][1Sa_24:3 (4). Explained in all the VSS. as = τὰς Φυσικὰς ἐκκρίσεις ποιήσασθαι (so Erdmann), except Syr., which has “to sleep.”—Tr.]
[4][1Sa_24:5 (6). All ancient VSS., except Chald,, read: “the skirt of Saul’s robe,” and so some MSS. In the present Heb. text we should expect the Art. before כנף, and, apparently, we should either supply the Art., or adopt the reading of the VSS.—Tr.]
[5][1Sa_24:6 (7). Literally: “a profane thing be it to me from Jehovah.”—Tr.]
[6][1Sa_24:7 (8). This word רַיְשַׁסַּע is variously rendered by the VSS.: συνεκάλεσεν, περιέσπασεν, ἔπεισεν, ἡπάτησεν, Chald. “quieted” (פַּיֵּם), Syr. “caused to repent, turned aside” (so Eng. A. V.), Arab. “threateningly admonished,” Vulg. “confregit.” Levy suggests וישׁמע as the reading of the Vat. Sept. (ἐπεισε). The Heb. word contains a strong figure (so Gesen. and Erdmann) “cut up” = “hindered, restrained.”—Tr.]
[7][1Sa_24:9 (10). Or: “hearkenest thou to.”—Tr.]
[8] [1Sa_24:10 (11). אָמַר, indefinite as in 1Sa_23:22 (Maurer), so Syr., Arab., Chald. The phrase, however, presents some difficulties. It is objected (Bib. Com.) that the subject of אָמַר in the present Heb. text is naturally “Jehovah,” so that it would read: “and Jehovah said (commanded) to kill thee;” but this is not necessarily required by the grammar, and is in David’s mouth impossible (Bib. Com.). Thenius rejects the sense of “command” here as belonging to later Heb. (but it is found in 2Sa_1:18; 2Sa_16:11), and adopts the reading לֹא אָבִיתִי,
“I did not wish,” after the Sept. οὐκ ἠβουλήθην, adding that the Heb. text is most readily explained from the Vulg.: “et cogitavi ut occiderem te,” whence Heb. וְאָמַרְתִּי (so Bib. Com.). Both these readings (and ו with Impf.) Wellhausen rejects, and reads after Sept. וָאֲמָאֵן (as in 1Sa_8:19), which is more probable from the form (the present Heb. might easily come from it), and gives a good sense. We cannot infer anything as to the text from Josephus’ omission of this clause.—Tr.]
[9][1Sa_24:11 (12). The mutilation of the Sept. here loses the expression of excitement which is so natural to the occasion.—Tr.]
[10]1Sa_24:11 (12). Sept. δεσμεύεις=“bindest in toils”=“huntest.”—Tr.]
[11][1Sa_24:13 (14). Wellhausen holds this verse to be an interpolation because its last clause is identical with the last clause of the preceding verse; but would not this repetition here be very natural?—Tr.]
[12][1Sa_24:14 (15). The rendering “one” for אֶחָד is more lively, yet not linguistically necessary; the numeral is sometimes used as Indef. Art., as in 1Sa_1:1.—Tr.]
[13][1Sa_24:15 (16). Of the three words here rendered “judge” the second and third are the same in the Heb. (שָׁפַט, indicating the act of a governor-judge) and the first different from these (דַּיָן= a judicial officer).—Tr.]
[14][1Sa_24:17 (18). The sense of retribution is sometimes, but not always found in this word (גָּמַל).—Tr.]
[15][1Sa_24:18 (19). This clause seems awkward. We would expect: “thou hast showed thy willingness to deal well,” or simply: “thou hast dealt well,” for the “showing” and the “dealing” are identical in content; nor does the Sept. ἀπήγγειλας help. Perhaps we should render: “Thou hast showed this day that thou dealest well,” that is, that such is thy purpose and policy.—Tr.]
[16][1Sa_24:19 (20). On this text see Erdmann in the Exposition.—Tr.]
[17][1Sa_24:20 (22). Here one MS. and Arab. add אַחֲרַי, “after me,” an obvious supplement.—Tr.]
[18][1Sa_24:22(23). Heb. עַל, “upon,” but thirty MSS. read אֵל, “to.”—Tr.]
[19][Some cite 1Sa_15:28; 1Sa_16:1; 1Sa_16:12, and also 1Sa_20:15; 1Sa_23:17, but it is not probable that David’s men would know these. Of any other promise we have no mention.—Tr.]
[20][That is the reverence, the pietas of the Romans.—Tr.]
[21][Philippson: “This address of David has so much natural eloquence, so much glow, and such a tone of conviction, that no one who has any sense for the simple beauties of the Bible can read it without being moved. The whole situation, too, is noble: David, standing on the rocky height in the desert, holding on high the trophy of his magnanimity, looking at and addressing the melancholy Saul, whom he loved as a father, honored as king, revered as the Lord’s Anointed, who yet without ground hated him and persecuted him with relentless and deadly zeal—using the opportunity with rapid words, which expressed his deepest feelings, to touch the heart of his enemy—he himself full or humility, oppressed by indescribable suffering and weighed down by the feeling of powerlessness, yet inspired by the consciousness of a noble deed.”—Tr.]
[22][On this verse and its translation see “Text. and Gram.”—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–4 he came to the sheepcotes--most probably in the upper…
he came to the sheepcotes--most probably in the upper ridge of Wady Chareitun. There a large cave--I am quite disposed to say the cave--lies hardly five minutes to the east of the village ruin, on the south side of the wady. It is high upon the side of the calcareous rock, and it has undergone no change since David's time. The same narrow natural vaulting at the entrance; the same huge natural chamber in the rock, probably the place where Saul lay down to rest in the heat of the day; the same side vaults, too, where David and his men were concealed. There, accustomed to the obscurity of the cavern, they saw Saul enter, while, blinded by the glare of the light outside, he saw nothing of him whom he so bitterly persecuted.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–5 DAVID AND SAUL IN THE WILDERNESS OF EN-GEDI, 1Sa_24:1-22.
DAVID AND SAUL IN THE WILDERNESS OF EN-GEDI, 1Sa_24:1-22.
1. When Saul was returned from following the Philistines — This was another of those bitter contests with that enemy against whom Saul was obliged to carry on war all his days, (1Sa_14:52;) but how long this war with the Philistines lasted, and of its relative importance, we are not informed.
Read full note →
En-gedi — The modern Ain-Jidy, situated about the middle of the western coast of the Dead Sea. Its name was transferred from a fountain near the sea to the whole neighbouring wilderness on the west, which is full of deep ravines, rocky ridges and dark caverns.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5 Ch. 1Sa_24:2. upon the rocks of the wild goats]…
Ch. 1Sa_24:2. upon the rocks of the wild goats] On precipitous cliffs scarcely accessible except to the ibex and chamois. Wild goats and antelopes still abound on the heights above Ain-Jidy.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–5 (1) When Saul was returned.—How intent Saul was on…
(1) When Saul was returned.—How intent Saul was on his bloody purpose with regard to his supposed rival is clear, for no sooner was the Philistine raid repulsed than with sleepless animosity he at once set forth with a force, as the next verse relates, of considerable magnitude to hunt down his foe. Saul was encouraged in this fresh enterprise by the offer of the Ziphites (see preceding 1Sam 1Sa_24:19-22). These bitter enemies of David, in the interval of the Philistine war—accustomed to the passes and mountains of the barren region of the south of Canaan—complying with the king’s request (1Sa_23:23), had taken careful knowledge of the lurking-places where David was hiding, and were now prepared to act as guides to the well-equipped and disciplined forces under Saul in its marches and counter-marches in the deserts bordering on the south of Judah.
En-gedi.—David and his band were now wandering along a lofty plateau, upon the tops of cliffs some 2,000 feet above the Dead Sea. En-gedi—still known as Ain-jedy, the Fountain of the Kid—is a beautiful oasis, in the barren wilderness to the south of Judah. Its original name was Hazazon Tamar—“The Palm Wood” (see 2Ch_20:2)—and was once an ancient settlement of the Amorites (see Gen_14:7). It has in all ages been a favourite spot with the possessors of the land. King Solomon appears to have paid peculiar attention to this garden of the wilderness. He planted the hills round it with vines; from the fountain flows a warm limpid stream, delicious to the taste. The remains of ancient gardens tell us that in the golden days of the kings En-gedi was probably a favourite resort of the wealthy citizen of Jerusalem. Solpmon, in his “Song of Songs,” writes of it in a strain which shows how he loved it, when he compares his beloved “to a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.”—Son_1:14. Its present condition, as described by modern travellers, more nearly resembles the En-gedi when Saul hunted David among the rocks and caverns than the En-gedi the resort of the Jerusalem citizens, beautiful with gardens and vines of Solomon.—Conder: Tent Life. Dean Stanley and others have described the spot with great care, and left us a vivid picture of the scene. They tell us of the long and weary journey-across the desolate valleys and precipitous barren heights, and of the enchanting scene which lay before them when once Ain-jedy was reached. They describe in flowing language the plentiful and rich vegetation, the trees and fruits, the ruins of the ancient gardens, and remains of the beautiful groves, still inhabited by a multitude of singing birds. In the limestone cliffs are numerous caves, some of them very large and deep, well calculated to be the temporary shelter of large bodies of men.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6 DAVID SPARES SAUL"S LIFE IN A CAVE (vers. 1-7).
DAVID SPARES SAUL"S LIFE IN A CAVE (vers. 1-7).
The wilderness of En-gedi. Finding no safety on the western side of the desert of Judah, where the Ziphites were ever watching his movements, David now boldly crossed this arid waste, and sought shelter in the remarkable oasis of En-gedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea. The word may signify either the Fountain of Luck or the Kid"s Spring, the latter being the meaning of the name Ain-Jadi, which it still bears. In 2Ch_20:2 it is identified with Hazazon-Tamar, the Palm Wood, an ancient seat of the Amorites, and evidently famous from of old for its fertility. (Gen_14:7) Conder ("Tent Work," 2:126) describes the country over which David would have to travel as almost impassable, so that in four and a half hours of hard riding be and his party advanced only six miles, so deep were the valleys which they were obliged to cross. From a lofty peak on their way the view was most extraordinary. On every side were other ridges, equally white, steep, and narrow; their sides seamed by innumerable torrent beds, their summits sharp and rugged in outline. Not a tree was visible, and the whole region was like the dry basin of a former sea, scoured by the rains, and washed down in places to the hard foundation of metamorphic limestone which underlies the whole district. But the desert once crossed, "there is no scene," he says, "more vividly impressed on my memory than that of this magnificently rocky and savage pass, and the view from the spring below." He had encamped on a plateau upon the top of the cliffs, which rise to a height of 2000 feet above the Dead Sea; and 1340 feet below him the warm spring of En-gedi, 83 F., rises from under a great boulder, and dashing down the rest of the descent, flows across the plate at the foot of the cliffs, which is about half a mile square. All around are the ruins of ancient gardens and thickets, among which he saw the beautiful black grackles with gold-tipped wings, bulbuls, and thrushes. Solomon seems to have delighted in the spot, and to have covered the hills with vines; for he compares his beloved to a "cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi" (Song of Son_1:14). Neither palm nor vine is to be found there now, but there is still a rich vegetation, and groves of trees. According to Thomson ("The Land and the Book," p. 602) the sides of the ravines leading to En-gedi are full of natural and artificial caves and sepulchres.
Read full note →
HOMILETICS.
Vers. 1-7.
Instruction in caves.
The facts are
1. Saul, having repelled the incursion of the Philistines, returns to pursueDavid in the wilderness of Engedi.
2. Saul, entering privately into a cave while David and his men lieconcealed there, comes unwittingly within the power of David.
3. David"s men, referring to a Divine prediction, urge him to slay Saul.
4. Apparently to indicate how entirely Saul was within his power, Davidstealthily cuts off the skirt of his coat.
5 . Reproaching himself for the levity thus displayed in treating the Lord"sanointed, he at once justifies his refusal to touch Saul"s life, and also restrains his men. It is observable how the sacred narrative of this period is entirely occupied with the conflict between Saul and David; not a word being said of the social and spiritual state of the nation, its commerce and agriculture, its hopes and fears, or even of the nature and degree of influence being exerted by Samuel and the prophetic schools. The specialty of sacred history lies in the concentration of all thought in the development of the chain of events by which the original promise to Adam and Abraham is traceable to fulfilment in Christ. This principle will account for countless omissions of fact which might reasonably be expected in a nation"s annals, and for the prominence given to persons and circumstances otherwise of no public significance. It is because men do not consider the spiritual principle on which the Old Testament is evidently constructed that they mistake much of its meaning, fail to see its exquisite teaching, and regard as heterogeneous what is pervaded by a marvellous unity. The incidents of this stage in the history not only reveal the gradual process by which Providence was working out great issues for Israel and all mankind, but also suggest several topics of far wider range than the individual life of David. Caves. from Machpelah, the centre of solemn and tender interests, (Gen_23:1-9 Gen_25:9 Gen_35:29 Gen_1:13) on to the hiding place of a weary-hearted prophet, (1Ki_19:9) to Plato"s imaginary scene for illustrating the limitations of human knowledge and the hiding places of persecuted saints, (Heb_12:3-8) have figured in human affairs, and the cave of Engedi certainly merits attention. It reminds us of
I THE DOMINANCE OF AN EVIL PASSION. In reply to the inquiry, How is it that the king of Israel is here away from his ordinary seat of government, and exposed to peril of life? the answer must be, Because the passion of cruel envy has gained dominion over his entire nature. Any considerations of policy or prudence wherewith he may have sought to justify his conduct in pursuing David were mere fictions created by a perverted will under the control of a masterful envy of one better them himself. The history traces the growth of this feeling. The dire evil, like a repressed torrent, seemed to gain force by the check given by Samuel and the prophets, (1Sa_19:18-24) until at last it gained such ascendancy over Saul"s life that the entire energy of his mind and the ordinary administration of his kingdom were made subordinate to its expression. He was the slave of an evil once consisting in a sudden feeling of ill will, which, had it been dealt with as every unhallowed feeling should the moment it appears, might have been crushed in the germ. The case of Saul is not unlike that of many men, although the governing feeling may be different. Men are more entirely dominated by some powerful disposition than they, in their neglect of introspection and consequent lack of self-knowledge, imagine. The reality is seen in the instance of persons given up to intemperance, dissoluteness of life, and cruelty; and ordinary observers may be able to trace the process from slight indulgence in the sin to its complete mastery over the life. Others, who look at life more closely and estimate its value by the Scriptural standard, can also see the same enslavement, brought on by degrees, in the instance of persons who pursue wealth, worldly fame, or personal enjoyment as the chief end of life. The Pharisees thought it shocking to have killed the prophets, and were not disposed to admit their own enslavement to evil feelings deadly in character. The positive antagonism of men to Christ means the gradual growth in them of aversion to his holy restraints until they become its slaves. There is a proud but delusive sense of independence attaching to this enslavement to evil. "We were never in bondage to any man" (Joh_9:40) And as in the case of Saul the domination of the evil only drew him on and on to deeper trouble, till at last all was lost, so, unless our ruling evils are destroyed by prompt submission of will to Christ"s yoke, and consequent subjection of the life to his purifying grace, sin will "bring forth death.
II THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN FEELING IN THE INTERPRETATION WHICH MEN PUT UPON REVELATION AND PROVIDENCE. Different opinions may be entertained as to the sense attached to the words of David"s men (ver. 4), and accordingly the practical lessons deducible will vary with the choice we make.
(1) On the supposition that they were here quoting a specific communication conveyed to David through Samuel or Gad, and probably divulged in course of conversation with them, we have raised the question of, the fact of revelations having been made in past ages to holy men which, serving for their personal guidance and comfort, have not been incorporated in the ordinary records, which conserve only what has been deemed necessary to the connected history of redemption, and the general instruction of mankind. If this be so, it is obvious obscurities might cease to be obscurities to us did we but know what those immediately concerned in the events recorded may have been familiar with.
(2) On the supposition that the language of these men was the interpretation which they put upon the predictions contained in 1Sa_15:28 1Sa_16:1, 1Sa_16:12, and on the avowed beliefs of Jonathan, (1Sa_20:15 1Sa_23:17) which by this time may have become current, we have raised the question of the influence of a cherished state of feeling its extent and legitimacy on the interpretation which men put upon the teachings of Scripture in reference to doctrine, history, and worship.
(3) On the supposition that their words were simply intended to be the sense they put upon the indications of Providence as then working out in favour of David"s cause, we have the question of the proneness of men to view passing events in the light of their own tendencies, and, therefore, to make Providence mean what it was never designed to suggest. Apart from controversy on the forementioned points, it is possible to generalise the teaching of the passage by saying that there is a prevailing tendency in men to prejudice the interpretation both of Divine words and providential events by undue regard to their own wishes. It is clear that these men wanted David to slay Saul. Being less spiritual and generous than he, not having risen to his lofty conception of the kingdom of God, and restive under the restraints which kept them from positions of power under the coming king, they easily believed it was God"s will that David should force on the issue by the death of his enemy. Passing event or spoken word in the past would have no other meaning for them.
1. This fact should be remembered in relation to controversies and diversities of opinion on matters of sacred history, doctrine, and worship.
The existence of such diversities is no evidence against a revealed religion, as some suppose, but just the reverse; for in the nature of the case men view the truth through the medium created by their own cherished moral condition. The final supremacy of truth is not to be attained in violation of laws which govern the operations of the human mind, but by means of them. That men so diverse in opinion and in worship should nevertheless have so much in common that is fundamental, and should be under the mighty influence of it, is a sign that the truth is one and of God, while the error is of man and is manifold. No student of human nature can be surprised that men should seek to eliminate the supernatural from Scripture history; for only let a desire be cherished to see a revelation harmonise with what a man thinks would be a proper way of giving it to the world, namely, by just such an absence of supernatural manifestations as characterises an era when no new revelation is longer needed, and it will be as easy for him to see only naturalism in Scripture events as for David"s men to see in words and events an authorisation to slay Saul. It is a suggestive circumstance that men of diverse temperaments and emotional or esthetic tendencies gravitate towards certain ecclesiastical organisations; nor can we overlook the fact that it is rare for men to pass over from a system in which their tastes have been formed to another, the advocates of which claim to represent the truth.
2. The fact should variously affect our conduct in relation to our fellowmen and to the truth. It should induce a distrust of our own judgment in so far as, on severe self-examination, it is seen to be associated with our wishes. Every one is bound to "search the Scriptures," to "see whether these things are so," and to "hold fast what is true." No surrender of this great duty and privilege to an order of men can be pleaded on the ground that possibly feeling may distort the vision of truth in the private individual; for men acting for others are men still, and cannot escape the conditions of human nature, while the aid of the Holy Spirit is as available for one sincere heart as for another. Our duty is to bring the most vigorous powers we can command to bear on our understanding of the will of God, and in so far as we do so in dependence on the Holy Spirit we may calmly rest in our conclusions, with the proviso that they, however good, are not coextensive with truth, and that we have purged our hearts of all human preference and prejudice. It should induce charity towards others. The exercise of charity in matters of opinion is not identical with a surrender of our own judgment to a superior, nor a denial of the importance of fundamental truth and the possibility of its attainment, nor a blindness to the serious consequences resulting from error, but an exercise of kindly consideration for those who differ from us, proceeding from the consciousness that our own views may be in some degree affected by our subjective moral condition, and that our superiority to others depends on the belief we have in the comparative freedom of our judgment from personal bias. It is a characteristic of the interaction of feeling with thought that in so far as feeling has become habitual we are, by a well known psychological law, less conscious of its presence as an element in the formation of judgment; and consequently we may, as may others, be very sincere though in error. This by no means justifies error, or renders men safe from its consequences; but it does demand mutual consideration, and imposes on every man the solemn responsibility of so guarding the beginnings of his life that no unholy feeling or form of self-will shall gain ascendancy in his nature. They are wise who in a kind and tender spirit seek to bring men to a higher form of spiritual life. It is in love the pure love of God that truth is to be seen. It should induce us to seek for ourselves and others more of the purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. Possibly while on earth men will not entirely rise above the disturbing or perverting influence of tastes and sentiments inwrought with their early education, and unconsciously fostered as years advance; for by the mental law of association we are, while in the body, in some measure subject to bondage. Yet the truth is clear that in so far as we do become pure in heart and like as a little child with a nature open to receive what God may teach, and not furnished with wishes by which truth is to be judged we shall rise to a correct view of God"s word and providence. Pure souls are quick in spiritual perception and responsive to all that is Divine, and, on the other hand, sensitive to the faint appearance of evil. The more fully the Church becomes sanctified, the more unity will be created in a discernment of all that constitutes fundamental truth. The eras in which men have paraded opinions alien to the faith once delivered to the saints, priding themselves on their skill and ability, have not been distinguished by extreme dependence on the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit; nor perhaps has the Church ever, since apostolic days, sufficiently associated growth in spiritual knowledge with his blessed indwelling.
III THE MEANS OF SUCCESS AS VIEWED BY MEN OF DIVERSE CHARACTER. All the men in the cave were one with David in the cause on which he was embarked. But followers do not always enter into the lofty aspirations of their leaders, or share equally with them the responsibility of the position assumed, while they often outstrip them in apparent zeal for the completion of their work. Hitherto the chief obstacle in the way of success was Saul, and now that Providence had manifestly put him within the power of David, what more conclusive evidence to ardent followers of the true road to success could be forthcoming? Let David smite his persecuting foe, and the cause is won! Such was the road to success suggested by policy, self-interest, usages of Eastern warfare, and restless impatience of the ways of God. Against this David protests. It is his duty to abide God"s time for entrance on his royal dignities. Even the slight liberty which David, on the impulse of the moment, took with the king in spoiling his garment became on reflection an occasion of self-reproach. Respect for office is a power in social life, being one form of reverence for law and order, and contributing to the easy maintenance of lawful authority; and therefore the levity of finding amusement for himself and others at a king"s expense was inconsistent with the true Hebrew culture which indicates its regard for the finer sentiments of life by such prohibitions as, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother"s milk;" "Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." It should be remembered generally that there is a seeming way to rapid success which is not the true way, and, vice versa, a tedious, painful way which is the right. David"s superior discernment was fortunate for him, though doubtless his adherents were annoyed at his apparent timidity and, as they supposed, fastidiousness. Lot ungenerously made choice of the richest district in haste to be rich, but his uncle eventually was most successful. (Gen_13:8-11 Gen_14:11, Gen_14:12) On the other hand, Moses refused the temptation to become possessed of the honours and riches of Egypt, and finally was raised to the highest position a servant of God could occupy. (Heb_11:24-26) Our Saviour might have gained a vast following and been regarded by the authorities of Jerusalem as their Messiah had he only accommodated his standard a little to their wishes; but now he is Lord of millions. The apostles constantly resisted inducements to achieve an immediate success by lowering their standard of preaching to the tastes of men, and so lost some (Gal_3:1-4) disciples; but the result has been most blessed. In Church organisation, modes of worship, and methods of labour it is possible to devise means by which at first a large accession shall be made to the ranks of nominal Christians, yet at the same time wrong may be done to the claims of order, purity, reverence, and truth, which wrong will be avenged in years to come by corruption of manners, low spiritual tastes, and possibly apostasy from the truth. In matters of business men often see an easy way by which wealth may be speedily won, and, in preference to the slow and steady process of honest toil, it may be chosen to the ruin of the soul. Simple, earnest waiting on Providence, doing daily work as it comes, not seeking to force matters by any act that conscience would condemn, is the course suggested by the conduct of David and all who fear God.
HOMILIES BY B. DALE. Vers. 1-7. (ENGEDI)
David"s forbearance toward Saul.
it not be manly to resent it?" said one, on receiving an affront. "Yes," was the reply, "but it would be Godlike to forgive it." In the spirit of this answer David acted when he spared Saul in the cave at Engedi, and thereby proved that he was guiltless of the design which the latter in his delusion attributed to him of aiming at his throne and his life. (1Sa_22:8) Saul himself had shown generosity toward enemies in the earlier part of his career; (1Sa_11:12) but his character had fearfully deteriorated since that time, and his generosity toward others was far surpassed by that of David toward him. "Generosity toward his enemies was a part of David"s very being. And he alone is the true hero who, like David, forces involuntary recognition and friendship even from his bitterest foe" (Ewald). Observe that
I HE WAS STRONGLY TEMPTED TO AVENGE HIMSELF. He had been bitterly hated and grievously wronged; "was a man of like passions with ourselves;" and the temptation came to him, as it comes to others, in
1. A favourable opportunity to take revenge. His enemy was entirely in his power, and his life might be taken away at a stroke.
O, Opportunity, thy guilt is great; "Tis thou that execut"st the traitor"s treason; Thou set"st the wolf where he the lamb may get; Whoever plots the sin, thou point"st the season; "Tis thou that spurn"st at right, at law, at reason; And in thy shady cell, where none may spy him, Sits sin, to seize the souls that wander by him". (Shakespeare)
1. A plausible argument used by others. David"s men not only desired to see the deed done and sought permission to do it (vers. 7, 10), but also said," See, this is the day of which Jehovah hath said to thee, Behold, I give thine enemy into thine hand," etc. "The speakers regarded the leadings of Providence by which Saul had been brought into David"s power as a Divine intimation to David himself to take this opportunity of slaying his deadly enemy, and called the intimation a word of Jehovah" (Keil). Men are apt to interpret the Divine purpose of events according to their own
2. interests and inclinations, (1Sa_23:7) and it is often the exact reverse of what they imagine it to be. It was not that David should slay Saul, but (among other things) that he should be tried, and by sparing him vindicated, blessed and made a blessing. What is meant for good is by a deceived heart turned to evil. "And those temptations are most powerful which fetch their force from the pretence of a religious obedience" (Hall).
3. A sudden thought tending in the direction of revenge (ver. 10, Vulgate: "And I thought to kill thee"). He did not cherish it or form a distinct purpose to carry it into effect, but came perilously near doing so in the indignity he offered to the king. "He does not seem to have been quite free from the temptation to kill Saul. The words (ver. 5) are only intelligible on the supposition that, on cutting off Saul"s skirt, his thoughts were not directed only to the use which he afterwards made of it, at least in the beginning, but that his object was rather to prove the goodness of his thoughts at the first weak beginning he made to carry them into effect. But his better self soon awoke; all impure thoughts fled; his eye became clear; with horror he put the temptation from him" (Hengstenberg). "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation," etc.. (Jam_1:12)
II HE COMPLETELY OVERCAME THE TEMPTATION. By
1. The possession of a tender conscience, which enabled him to perceive the will of God, shrank from sin, and smote him for his "thought of foolishness" (Pro_24:9) and irreverent act. "It is a good thing to have a heart within us smiting us for sins that seem little; it is a sign conscience is awake and tender, and will be a means to prevent greater sins" (M. Henry).
2. Regard to the Divine will, which directed him not to avenge himself, but to leave vengeance with the Lord; to honour the king, and love his neighbour as himself. His regard for it was lowly, reverent, and supreme. The purpose of providential events must be interpreted in harmony with conscience and the moral law. How often do the Scriptures enjoin forbearance and forgiveness toward enemies! (Pro_20:22 Pro_25:21, Mat_5:44; Rom_12:19-21; Col_3:13)
3. Repression of evil thought and impulse; immediate, firm, and entire. "The better to know how to guard against the wiles of the enemy, take it for a certain rule that every thought which discourages and removes thee from growing in love and trust towards God is a messenger of hell; and, as such, thou must drive him away, and neither admit him nor give him a hearing" (Scupoli). David repressed such a thought in himself and in his men, became the protector of Saul, was not overcome of evil, but overcame evil with good, and was made by means of temptation stronger and more illustrious. "Temptation is the greatest occasioner of a Christian"s honour; indeed, like an enemy, it threatens and endeavours to ruin him, but in conquest of it consists his crown and triumph" (Hales, "Golden Remains").
As aids to the practice of forbearance
1. Consider the "goodness, forbearance, and long suffering ofGad.
2. Contemplate the example of Christ.
3. Watch against the first thought of evil.
4. Pray for the spirit of patience, forgiveness, and love. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v3 Where was a cave and Saul went in .…
1Sa_24:3-22
Where was a cave and Saul went in . . . and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
Read full note →
Saul and David in the cave
Sauls animosity is a fire that finds constant fuel. No sooner are the Philistines repulsed than he resumes his hunt for his prey. That Saul should know so well where to look for David seems to imply that traitors were among the wanderers followers. Misinterpreted providence refused in wisdom. Sauls unexpected appearance thus unguarded would appear to Davids men as decidedly a providence. Calling to mind the meaning of the Divine anointing and the promise that David should come to the throne of Israel, they whisper, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee (1Sa_24:4). If Psa_7:1-17 belongs to this period, we see how great the conflict with self before this temptation. The history furnishes us with much light concerning David.
1. His tenderness of conscience is noticeable. His heart smote him for thus doubting God and stooping to dishonour His anointed king (verse 5).
2. His conscious integrity adds force to his words. How tenderly he pleads with Saul (verse 9). How tremulous with righteousness are his words (verse 11).
3. What dignity there is in truth l and withal his humility must be noticed. (verse 14). It was as if he had said, I shall not antedate the promise. God has said He will bring me to the throne. I shall wait. (verse 15). Such a time was filled with tests--a sudden opportunity to reach the desire of the heart, and an appeal to passion in the name of religion. He stood the strain. He lost not his self-command. Nearly all our falls come from trying to go before God! (H. E. Stone.)
David sparing his enemy
This scene is an episode in the life of David, whom God had chosen to succeed Saul as the king of Israel.
1. The cave. In all limestone countries such caves are common, and many of them are large enough to conceal armies. The Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Weyers Cave in Virginia are large enough to shelter a hundred thousand men. Bruces Cave in Scotland is still shown to tourists, and history tells how Mohammed once saved his life by running into one of these mountain caves. But in this cave at Engedi we have the marvellous escape of Saul as an act of gracious forbearance on the part of David.
2. The meeting. In the solitude, of that cave, by the mysterious providence of God, are these two men, Saul and David. Saul hated David as Haman hated Mordecai, or as Herod hated Jesus when the wise men told him that a King was born in Bethlehem.
3. David restrained. It must have been a great provocation to stand there and see his inveterate enemy ungird his mantle and compose himself to sleep. But David was a man of war, brave as the lion. He was made of nobler stuff than assassins are made of. He was too much of a man to kill a king when asleep, as Richard hired men to kill the princes of England that he might ascend the throne.
4. The final appeal. But I say unto you, love your enemies. We would hardly expect to find a fulfilment of such a sentiment in that rude age of the world.
Lessons:--
1. Sin hardens. Sin puts a man in antagonism to God, makes him hate the rule of God, and makes him ignore and despise the mercy of God, and at last brings him to confront the unmitigated vengeance of God.
2. The subduing and restraining power of Gods grace. (T. W. Hooper, D. D.)
David sparing his enemy
David illustrates the peacemaker.
I. In his forbearance. Those were times of quick and savage deed. Human life was cheap. Tender sensibilities had slight leave among a people, every one of whom wore his sword on thigh, ready, on occasion, to pierce with it the heart of an offender. The spirit of the age demanded speedy redress of injury or insult. And here was one who, above all others, had, signalized himself as gifted with courage and strength in conflict. The wrongs we have suffered do rankle mightily, till an unearthly nature has been created within us. To forgive, but not forget, is the veriest empty form of words. Philip of Burgundy, being entreated to punish a prelate who had injured him, may seem to have given a holy rule in his reply, It is a fine thing to have revenge in ones power, but it is a finer thing not to use it. And a finer yet, is it not, to have no spirit of resentment burning within, however it may be reprised? Another characteristic of the peacemaker which gave David a right to the title was:
II. His conscientiousness. Though he would not harm his foe in the least, yet he did think best to obtain proof that he could have slain him if he would. We commend his prudence. But no sooner had the rent been made in the royal mantle than his heart smote him. He had lifted his hand against his fellow; if not to cut off his head, at least somewhat his dignity. The Rabbis declare that he expiated this sin in his old age, by finding no warmth in the clothes wherewith he wrapped himself. He opened his inmost heart to his murmuring associates, and we are surprised that this bronzed soldier betrays the finer sentiments of humanity. The beating of a reverent, loving heart, seeking over to he cleansed from secret faults, is felt through all this story of trial. As the string of the piano vibrates when its kindred note is sounded by other instrument or voice, so does this brief protest of a conscience, ages since, stir the readers in quick unison, as we learn that the standards of right and wrong are eternal. The peacemaker like David is--
III. Loyal to rulers. Saul had been sought out by the aged prophet, and the vial of oil had been poured upon his head. Henceforth he was a representative of Jehovah. Affront, disobedience, disrespect shown to him, was dishonour to God as well. Let him betray his trust; let him, like the stork in the fable, eat up his subjects; let him be a Herod, a Nero, a Charles, an Ashantee chief, an Alexander IV; still, the authority of his office, when once he holds it, is sacred, and must be maintained. So David reasoned, and would not for a moment think of retaliation. What a lesson of self-control and chivalrous devotion was that to the impatient, hating victims of oppression in every age! Gods time and Gods way may best be waited for. The chief attribute at the peacemaker David was--
IV. Simple trust in God. In this instance, as before and afterwards, we find him, in full view of danger, committing his ease to the Lord, whom he prayed to judge between me and thee, and plead my cause and deliver me out of thine hand. Such confidence is a sublime reality. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 1Sa_24:1-22; 1Sa_26:1-25.
CHAPTER X X X I.
DAVID TWICE SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL.
Read full note →
1Sa_24:1-22; 1Sa_26:1-25.
THE invasion of the Philistines had freed David from the fear of Saul for a time, but only for a time. He knew full well that when the king of Israel had once repelled that invasion he would return to prosecute the object on which his heart was so much set. For a while he took refuge among the rocks of Engedi, that beautiful spot of which we have already spoken, and which has been embalmed in Holy Writ, as suggesting a fair image of the Beloved One - "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi" (Son_1:14). The mountains here and throughout the hill country of Judea are mostly of limestone formation, abounding, like all such rocks, in caverns of large size, in which lateral chambers run off at an angle from the main cavity, admitting of course little or no light, but such that a person inside, while himself unseen, may see what goes on at the entrance to the cave. In the dark sides of such a cave, David and his men lay concealed when Saul was observed by him to enter and lie down, probably unattended, to enjoy the mid-day sleep which the heat of the climate often demands. We cannot fail to remark the singular providence that concealed from Saul at this time the position of David. He had good information of his movements in general; the treacherous spirit which was so prevalent, greatly aided him in this; but on the present occasion, he was evidently in ignorance of his situation. If only he had known, how easy it would have been for him with his three thousand chosen men to blockade the cave, and starve David and his followers into surrender!
The entrance of the king being noticed by David's men, they urged their master to avail himself of the opportunity of getting rid of him which was now so providentially and unexpectedly presented to him. We can hardly think of a stronger temptation to do so than that under which David now lay. In the first place, there was the prospect of getting rid of the weary life he was leading, - more like the life of a wild beast hunted by its enemies, than of a man eager to do good to his fellows, with a keen relish for the pleasures of home and an extraordinary delight in the services of God's house. Then there was the prospect of wearing the crown and wielding the sceptre of Israel, - the splendours of a royal palace, and its golden opportunities of doing good. Further, there was the voice of his followers urging him to the deed, putting on it a sacred character by ascribing to it a Divine permission and appointment. And still further, there was the suddenness and unexpectedness of the opportunity. Nothing is more critical than a sudden opportunity of indulging an ardent passion; with scarcely a moment for deliberation, one is apt to be hurried blindly along, and at once to commit the deed. With all his noble nature, Robert the Bruce could not refrain from plunging his dagger into the heart of the treacherous Comyn, even in the convent of the Minorite friars. The discipline of David's spirit must at this time have been admirable. Not only did he restrain himself, but he restrained his followers too. He would neither strike his heartless enemy, nor suffer another to strike him. On the first of the two occasions of his sparing him - recorded in the twenty-fourth chapter - he might naturally believe that his forbearance would turn Saul's heart and end the unjust quarrel. On the second occasion of the same sort - recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter - he could have had no hope of the kind. It was a pure sense of duty that restrained him. He acted in utter contempt of what was personal and selfish, and in deepest reverence for what was holy and Divine. How different from the common spirit of the world! Young people, who are so ready to keep up a sense of wrong, and wait an opportunity of paying back your schoolfellows, study this example of David. Ye grown men, who could not get such-a-one to vote for you, or to support your claim in your controversy, and who vowed that you would never rest till you had driven him from the place, how does your spirit compare with that of David? Ye statesmen, who have received an affront from some barbarous people, utterly ignorant of your ways, and who forthwith issue your orders for your ships of war to scatter destruction among their miserable villages, terrifying, killing, mutilating, no matter how many of the wretches that have no arms to meet you in fair fight - think of the forbearance of David. And think too of many passages in the New Testament that give the idea of another treatment and another species of victory: - "Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
The special consideration that held back the arm of David from killing Saul was that he was the Lord's anointed. He held the office of king by Divine appointment, - not merely as other kings may be regarded as holding it, but as God's lieutenant, called specially, and selected for the office. For David to remove him would be to interfere with the Divine prerogative. It would be so much the more inexcusable as God had many other ways of removing him, any one of which He might readily employ. "David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed."
Let us briefly follow the narrative on each of the two occasions.
First, when David saw Saul asleep at the entrance of the cave near Engedi, he crept towards him as he lay, and removed a loose piece of his garment. When Saul rose up and proceeded on his way, David boldly followed him, believing that after sparing the king's life he was safe from attack either from him or his people. His respectful salutation, drawing the king's attention, was followed by an act of profound obeisance. David then addressed Saul somewhat elaborately, his address being wholly directed to the point of disabusing the king's mind of the idea that he had any plot whatever against his life. His words were very respectful but at the same time bold. Taking advantage of the act of forbearance which had just occurred, he demanded of the king why he listened to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt. He protested that for himself nothing would induce him to stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed. That very day, he had had the chance, but he had forborne. His people had urged him, but he would not comply. There was the skirt of his garment which he had just cut off: it would have been as easy for him, when he did that, to plunge his sword into the heart of the king. Could there be a plainer proof that Saul was mistaken in supposing David to be actuated by murderous or other sinful feelings against him? And yet Saul hunted for his life to take it. Rising still higher, David appealed to the great Judge of all, and placed the quarrel in His hands. To vary the case, he quoted a proverb to the effect that only where there was wickedness in the heart could wickedness be found in the life. Then, with the easy play of a versatile mind, he put the case in a comical light: did it become the great king of Israel to bring his hosts after one so insignificant - "after a dead dog, after a flea"? Was ocean to be tossed into tempest "to waft a feather or to drown a straw"? Once more, and to sum up the whole case, he appealed solemnly to God, virtually invoking His blessing on whoever was innocent in this quarrel, and calling down His wrath and destruction on the party that was really guilty.
The effect on Saul was prompt and striking. He was touched in his tenderest feelings by the singular generosity of his opponent. He broke down thoroughly, welcomed the dear voice of David, "lifted up his voice and wept." He confessed that he was wrong, that David had rewarded him good and he had rewarded David evil. David had given him that day a convincing proof of his integrity; though it seemed that the Lord had delivered him into his hand, he killed him not. He had reversed the principle on which men were accustomed to act when they came upon an enemy, and had him in their power. And all these acknowledgments of David's superior goodness Saul made, while knowing well and frankly owning that David should be the king, and that the kingdom should be established in his hand. One favour only Saul would beg of David in reference to that coming time - that he would not massacre his family, or destroy his name out of his father's house - a request which it was easy for David to comply with. Never would he dream of such a thing, however common it was in these Eastern kingdoms. David sware to Saul, and the two parted in peace.
How glad David must have been that he acted as he did! Already his forbearance has had a full reward. It has drawn out the very best elements of Saul's soul; it has placed Saul in a light in which we can think of him with interest, and even admiration. How can this be the man that so meanly plotted for David's life when he sent him against the Philistines? that gave him his daughter to be his wife in order that he might have more opportunities to entangle him? that flung the murderous javelin at his head? that massacred the priests and destroyed their city simply because they had shown him kindness? Saul is indeed a riddle, all the more that this generous fit lasted but a very short time; and soon after, when the treacherous Ziphites undertook to betray David; Saul and his soldiers came again to the wilderness to destroy him.
It has been thought by some, and with reason, that something more than the varying humour of Saul is necessary to account for his persistent efforts to kill David. And it is believed that a clue to this is supplied by expressions of which David made much use, and by certain references in the Psalms, which imply that to a great extent he was the victim of calumny, and of calumny of a very malignant and persistent kind. In the address on which we have commented David began by asking why Saul listened to mens words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy life? And in the address recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter (1Sa_26:19) David says very bitterly, "If they be the children of men that have stirred thee up against me, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods." Turning to the seventh Psalm, we find in it a vehement and passionate appeal to God in connection with the bitter and murderous fury of an enemy, who is said in the superscription to have been Gush the Benjamite. The fury of that man against David was extraordinary. Deliver me, O Lord, "lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces when there is none to deliver." It is plain that the form of calumny which this man indulged in was accusing David of ''rewarding evil to him that was at peace with him," an accusation not only not true, but outrageously contrary to the truth, seeing he had "delivered him that without cause was his enemy." It is not unlikely therefore that at Saul's court David had an enemy who had the bitterest enmity to him, who never ceased to poison Saul's mind regarding him, who put facts in the most offensive light, and even after the first act of David's generosity to Saul not only continued, but continued more ferociously than ever to inflame Saul's mind, and urge him to get rid of this intolerable nuisance. What could have inspired Gush, or indeed any one, with such a hatred to David we cannot definitely say; much of it was due to that instinctive hatred of holy character which worldly men of strong will show in every age, and perhaps not a little to the apprehension that if David did ever come to the throne, many a wicked man, now fattening on the spoils of the kingdom through the favour of Saul, would be stript of his wealth and consigned to obscurity.
It would seem, then, that had Saul been left alone he would have left David alone. It was the bitter and incessant plotting of David's enemies that stirred him up. Jealousy was only too active a feeling in his breast, and it was easy to work upon it, and fill him with the idea that, after all, David was a rebel and a traitor. These things David must have known; knowing them, he made allowance for them, and did not suffer his heart to become altogether cold to Saul. The kindly feelings which Saul expressed when he dismissed from his view all the calumnies with which he had been poisoned, and looked straight at David, made a deep impression on his rival, and the fruit of them appeared in that beautiful elegy on Saul and Jonathan, which must seem a piece of hypocrisy if the facts we have stated be not kept in view: Saul and Jonathan were pleasant and lovely in their lives, and in their death they were not divided."
In the second incident, recorded in the twenty-sixth chapter, when David again spared the life of Saul, not much more needs to be said. Some critics would hold it to be the same incident recorded by another hand in some earlier document consulted by the writer of 1 Samuel, containing certain variations such as might take place at the hand of a different historian. But let us observe the differences of the two chapters, (1) The scene is different; in the one case it is near Engedi, in the other in the wilderness, near the hill Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon. (2) The place where Saul was asleep is different; in the one case a cave; in the other case a camp, protected by a trench. (3) The trophy carried off by David was different; in the one case the skirt of his garment, in the other a spear and cruse of water. (4) The position of David when he made himself known was different; in the one case he went out of the cave and called after Saul; in the other he crossed a gully and spoke from the top of a crag. (5) His way of attracting attention was different; in the one case he spoke directly to Saul, in the other he rallied Abner, captain of the host, for failing to protect the person of the king. But we need not proceed further with this list of differences. Those we have adverted to are enough to repel the assertion that there were not two separate incidents of the same kind. And surely if the author was a mere compiler, using different documents, he might have known if the incidents were the same. If it be said that we cannot believe that two events so similar could have happened, that this is too improbable to be believed, we may answer by referring to similar cases in the Gospels, or even in common life. Suppose a historian of the American civil war to describe what took place at Bull Run. First he gives an account of a battle there between the northern and southern armies, some incidents of which he describes. By-and-bye he again speaks of a battle there, but the incidents he gives are quite different. Our modern critics would say it was all one event, but that the historian, having consulted two accounts, had clumsily written as if there had been two battles. We know that this fancy of criticism is baseless. In the American civil war there were two battles of Bull Run between the same contending parties at different times. So we may safely believe that there were two instances of David's forbearance to Saul, one in the neighbourhood of Engedi, the other in the neighbourhood of Ziph.
And all that needs to be said further respecting the second act of forbearance by David is that it shines forth all the brighter because it was the second, and because it happened so soon after the other. We may see that David did not put much trust in Saul's profession the first time, for he did not disband his troop, but remained in the wilderness as before. It is quite possible that this displeased Saul. It is also possible that that inveterate false accuser of David from whom he suffered so much would make a great deal of this to Saul, and would represent to him strongly that if David really was the innocent man he claimed to be, after receiving the assurance he got from him he would have sent his followers to their homes, and returned in peace to his own. That he did nothing of the kind may have exasperated Saul, and induced him to change his policy, and again take steps to secure David, as before. Substantially, David's remonstrance with Saul on this second occasion was the same as on the first. But at this tune he gave proof of a power of sarcasm which he had not shown before. He rated Abner on the looseness of the watch he kept of his royal master, and adjudged him worthy of death for not making it impossible for anyone to come unobserved so near the king, and have him so completely in his power. The apology of Saul was substantially the same as before; but how could it have been different? The acknowledgment of what was to happen to David was hardly so ample as on the last occasion. David doubtless parted from Saul with the old conviction that kindness was not wanting in his personal feelings, but that the evil influences that were around him, and the fits of disorder to which his mind was subject, might change his spirit in a single hour from that of generous benediction to that of implacable jealousy.
But now to draw to a close. We have adverted to that high reverence for God which was the means of restraining David from lifting up his hand against Saul, because he was the Lord's anointed. Let us now notice more particularly what an admirable spirit of self-restraint and patience David showed in being willing to bear all the risk and pain of a most distressing position, until it should please God to bring to him the hour of deliverance. The grace we specially commend is that of waiting for God's time. Alas! into how many sins, and even crimes, have men been betrayed through unwillingness to wait for God's time! A young man embarks in the pursuits of commerce; but the gains to be derived from ordinary business come in far too slowly for him; he makes haste to be rich, engages in gigantic speculation, plunges into frightful gambling, and in a few years brings ruin on himself and all connected with him. How many sharp and unhandsome transactions continually occur just because men are impatient, and wish to hurry on some consummation which their hearts are set on! Nay, have not murders often taken place just to hasten the removal of some who occupied places that others were eager to fill? And how often are evil things done by those who will not wait for the sanction of honourable marriage?
But even where no act of crime has been committed, impatience of God's time may give rise to many an evil feeling that does not go beyond one's own breast. Many a son who will succeed to an inheritance on the death of his father, or of some other relative, is tempted to wish, more or less consciously, for an event the last to be desired by a filial heart. You may say, it is human nature; how could anyone help it? The example of David shows how one may help it. The heart that is profoundly impressed with the excellence of the Divine will, and the duty and privilege of loyally accepting all His arrangements, can never desire to anticipate that will in any matter, great or small. For how can any good come in the end from forcing forward arrangements out of the Divine order? If, for the moment, this brings any advantage in one direction, it is sure to be followed by far greater evils in another. Do we all realize the full import of our prayer when we say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Of one thing you may be very sure, there is no impatience in heaven for a speedier fulfillment of desirable events than the will of God has ordained. There is no desire to force on the wheels of Providence if they do not seem to be moving fast enough. So let it be with us. Let us fix it as a first principle in our minds, as an immovable rule of our lives, that as God knows best how to order His providence, so any interference with Him is rash and perilous, and wicked too; and with reference both to events which are not lawfully in our hands, and the time at which they are to happen, let us realize it as alike our duty and our interest to say to God, in the spirit of full and unreserved trust-"Not our will, but Thine be done."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 1Sa_24:2 “Rocks of the wild goats,” or ibex-rocks. Probably…
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES—
1Sa_24:2 “Rocks of the wild goats,” or ibex-rocks. Probably not a name for any particular rock, but a general term applied to the locality on account of the number of ibexes, or wild goats, found there.
Read full note →
1Sa_24:3. “Sheepcotes.” These are still to be seen at the mouth of the caves in this region, and are made by piling up stones in a circle and covering them with thorns. “To cover his feet,” i.e., to obey a call of nature, when Orientals usually cover their feet. (Keil, Erdmann, and others.) There are many caves in this district where men might easily remain concealed from the view of a person entering. “The largest cave,” says Lieut. Lynch (American Exploration of the Dead Sea), “that we entered at Engedi could contain thirty men, and has a long low and narrow gallery running from one side, which would be invisible when the sun does not shine through the entrance.”
1Sa_24:4. “Behold the day,” etc. “This can here be understood only in the general sense of the Divine ordering of a favourable opportunity. A reference to a definite Divine declaration is not in the words themselves. Some cite 1Sa_16:23; 1Sa_16:1-12; and also 1Sa_20:15; 1Sa_23:17; but it is not probable that David’s men would know this. Of any other promise we have no mention.” (Lange’s Commentary.) “Saul’s robe.” His long outer mantle (meil), probably laid aside by Saul when he entered the cave.
1Sa_24:6. “The Lord forbid.” Literally, “far be it from me from Jehovah,” i.e., on Jehovah’s account. “It is a religious ground which restrains David.” (Erdmann.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Sa_24:1-7
DAVID SPARES SAUL IN THE CAVE
I. Here is an example of the power of hatred to sustain the zeal of the wicked. We often speak of the power of righteous convictions and emotions to sustain men in a course of righteous action in the face of much opposition and many defeats, and we rejoice to think that history furnishes us with many bright illustrations of this truth. But we cannot deny that wicked men have also shown much courage and patience in the pursuit of their evil designs, impelled by the power of evil passions and principles. And of all these passions, perhaps hatred, and especially hatred of those whom the hater has wronged, is the most potent. This is the motive power that keeps alive the zealous activity of the great adversary of the human race. Satan first wronged man by tempting him to sin, and throughout all the ages since has been unceasing in his hatred to the creatures whom he has wronged and untiring in his efforts to compass their ruin. Such a passion possessed Saul at this time. His hatred of David was not appeased by the wrong which he had done him in the past, but seemed to gather strength with every fresh crime committed against him, and sustained him in his purpose to take his life if possible, notwithstanding all the checks and hindrances hitherto received. Since the day when he mistrusted David’s motive of action in the defeat of Goliath, he had found in his malice inspiration sufficient to keep him ever eager to compass his destruction, and he could not have set about this new pursuit with more determination and energy if God, instead of having constantly checkmated him in the past, had given him a Divine commission to seek and to destroy the son of Jesse. The untiring zeal of such a man under the influence of such a motive, ought to read a lesson to all who, professing to be animated by love to men and zeal for righteousness, often become weary and faint-hearted if they meet with repeated disappointments.
II. An example of the power of faith in God to abide God’s time of vindication. To a man who harboured a spirit of revenge such an opportunity as now presented itself to David to take the life of his adversary could hardly have been resisted. But revenge and retaliation are more frequently found in alliance with guilt than with innocence. The man who is wrongfully accused is generally more ready to forgive his accuser than the man who is guilty of the crime laid to his charge, because the latter is, as a rule, more likely to be governed by passion, and the former to be ruled by conscience. But the temptation here presented to David by the peculiar circumstances of the case, and seconded by the persuasions of his followers, did not take the form of an act of private revenge. We do not know what took place in David’s spirit when he found Saul so completely in his power, but if there arose within him any sudden impulse to take action against his persecutor, we may safely conclude that it sought to justify itself on the same ground as that urged by his men, viz., that in so doing he would be only taking a lawful advantage of a remarkable providence. And it was this which formed the strength of the temptation. As we saw in the preceding chapter (see on 1Sa_24:7-12) men are at all times prone to interpret circumstances in accordance with their own inclinations, rather than by the light of Divine laws, and nothing but a strong faith in God could have saved David at this time from falling into this snare. The man who was now at his mercy was avowedly seeking his life, and might it not therefore be lawful to slay him in self-defence, nay, might he not have been given into his hand for this very purpose? This was not the argument of one man only, but of many, and numbers strengthen the weight of argument. Then David knew, what his men did not know, that he was also the anointed of the Lord, and was destined by Jehovah to succeed Saul as king of Israel. Was not the time now come when by Saul’s death peace might be restored to the kingdom which he neglected to gratify his private enmity? And would not David bring a blessing to the entire nation by executing the sentence which had long since been pronounced against the man who had proved so faithless to the great trust committed to him? Such questions and arguments from within and without came up for solution in the short space of time given to David for decision, but a man who, like David, lives a life of dependence upon God and of confidence in Him, does not find it so difficult after all to find out what he ought to do and to do it. The key to David’s conduct in these circumstances is found in his firm persuasion that his cause was in the hands of the Divine and Righteous Ruler of all men, who would not suffer wrong to prevail over right in the end. “The Lord judge between me and thee, and see and plead my cause.” This was the shield of faith upon which David turned aside the darts of temptation which now assailed him.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1Sa_24:3. If Saul had known his own opportunities, how David and his men had interred themselves, he had saved a treble labour of chase, of execution, and burial; for had he but stopped the mouth of that cave, his enemies had laid themselves down in their own graves. The wisdom of God thinks fit to hide from evil men and spirits those means and seasons which might be, if they had been taken, most prejudicial to his own. We had been oft foiled if Satan could but have known our hearts. Sometimes we lie open to evils, and happy it is for us that He only knows it who, pities instead of tempting us. Bp. Hall.
1Sa_24:4. Providential purpose, apparent and real.
1. What was here the apparent purpose of God? To give an injured man the opportunity of delivering and avenging himself.…
2. How did he know that such could not be the purpose of Providence? Because it would involve his doing what would be wrong in itself. An enlightened and tender conscience must check our interpretations of Providence.
3. What was the real Providential purpose? As usual, it was manifold: we can see the following points; (a). To make him more conscientious by obeying conscience under sore temptation (1Sa_24:5-6). (b). To present a noble example to his rude followers and the people at large (1Sa_24:6; 1Sa_24:10). (c). To furnish a most convincing proof that he was wrongly accused (1Sa_24:9-11). (d). To give him ground for a confident appeal to Providence in future (1Sa_24:12 sq.; comp. 1Sa_26:23-24). (e). To heighten his reputation for loyalty and magnanimity, and smooth the way to his finally becoming king.—Lange’s Commentary.
1Sa_24:5. His conscience, which keeps court in every faculty of the soul, checked him, such was his tenderness then. Bee-masters tell us that those are the best hives that make the greatest noise; so is that the best conscience that checketh for the smallest sins. Good men are afraid of the least show of sin, being jealous over themselves with a godly jealousy.—Trapp.
1Sa_24:7. Revenge is unquestionably one of the strongest and most impetuous, as it is plainly one of the darkest passions in the heart of man. Of all the tragedies of which this earth has been the scene, the wildest have sprung from the exercise of revenge; of all the crimes that have disgraced humanity, the darkest have had this foul passion for their mother; and perhaps the bitterest remorse with which man’s bosom has ever been torn, is that which has followed the deeds of revenge. Dark and dreadful, too, though this passion be, nothing comes less welcome than the call to check it; and once it is fairly roused, life itself would often be parted with more readily than the savage gratification which it craves. Nowhere have its frightful fruits been more clearly shown than in that beautiful island of the Mediterranean celebrated as the birthplace of the first Napoleon. For hundreds of years Corsica has sustained a lofty reputation for its patriotism and dauntless valour; age after age has produced fresh crops of heroes, worthy of being ranked with those of any land; but in spite of the richness of its soil, the beauty of its climate, and the fearless spirit of its people, the country is most miserable; its plains are uncultivated, its inhabitants are kept in constant misery by family feuds that never heal, and that are constantly breaking out with fresh vehemence, through the influence of an organised system of revenge, that under the name of the vendetta has become one of the institutions of the country.… It is only when we think of such awful fruits of the spirit of revenge that we become truly alive to the singular excellence of the spirit of forbearance which David remarkably displayed. We see the striking contrast between nature and grace—between the heart of man as sin has made it, and the heart of man as grace renews it.… Yet while we freely award the tribute of admiration, let us not forget that the field is one upon which similar victories are always to be won.—Blackie.
1Sa_24:8. David follows Saul from the cave more joyous now than after the conquest of Goliath. Indeed, this last victory was the more glorious one—the spoils were more precious, the trophies more honourable. Then, he had needed a sling, stones, and battle array; this time his reason had been a sufficient weapon—without arms he had won the victory, without having shed blood he had erected the trophy. He came forth, therefore, not carrying the head of a Philistine, but a mortified heart, a conquered anger; and it was not to Jerusalem that he consecrated his spoils, but to heaven, to the city on high. We see no women coming forth to meet him with songs of praise, but the angels applauded his deed and admired his wisdom and piety. For he returned after having given many wounds to his adversary; not to Saul, whom he had saved, but to his real enemy, the devil, whom he had pierced through with many thrusts. For as our anger and lust and our mutual collisions rejoice the devil, so peace and concord and victory over passion grieve and conquer him who hates peace and is the father of jealousy. David comes forth, then, from the cavern with a crown upon his head … it is not the diadem of Saul, but the crown of justice which adorns him—it is not the royal purple which enwraps him, but a wisdom more than human, before which the most gorgeous robe becomes pale.—Chrysostom.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 1Sa 24:1-2
1Sa 24:1-2
(with Son 1:14)
Read full note →
Engedi means the fountain of the wild goat or rather, as we should say, of the ibex, the Syrian chamois, or the antelope. Among these wild but beautiful solitudes David, with his young men, established himself. Engedi itself was on a perpendicular cliff, hanging fifteen hundred feet above the Dead Sea. The palms have all gone, the vineyards all gone; the trenna, the beautiful wild flower supposed to be that called the camphire, abounds still. The crags and cliffs are thronged with doves, and upon a shelf of the mountain there is a little lakelet or fountain, breaking forth into a stream and tumbling on, no great torrent, but a thread of silver, for four hundred feet below.
I. Here, to David’s retreat by the fountain of the wild goat, came Saul, "the deceitful and unjust man." But the cumbrous and heavy Saul could do nothing against the lithe stripling, David. There is even a sportive humour in the very acts by which David shows his superiority to his foe. Altogether, the sublime, the pathetic, the humorous and the graphic mingled together in the various adventures of David, the outlaw of Engedi.
II. With this spot too, no doubt, we are to associate the inditing of many of the imprecatory Psalms; for here, hunted as a bird through the wilderness, he said "I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul."
III. During his stay at Engedi, David was not a wild bandit; among the hills the law of his God was in his heart; not wreaking on society his revenge, but flying to the spot where, if he could be most securely screened from invasion, he would also be farthest removed from the possibility of inflicting injury; and there he waited, nursing his great soul amidst the solitudes of the eternal hills. Among the rocks of Engedi, David "endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
E. Paxton Hood, The Preacher’s Lantern, vol. iii., p. 605.
References: 1Sa 24:4.—F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 149; J. Van Oosterzee, Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 442. 1Sa 24:11.—T. Coster, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 20. 1Sa 24:16.—Parker, vol. vii., p. 41. 1Sa 25:1.—W. M. Taylor, David King of Israel, p. no; J. R. Macduff, Sunsets on the Hebrew Mountains, p. 78. 1Sa 25:1-36.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 272. 1Sa 25:3.—T. Coster, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 51. 1Sa 25:10.—H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 2654. 1Sa 25:10, 1Sa 25:11.—F. W. Robertson, Sermons, 1st series, p. 245. 1Sa 25:8.—F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 168. 1Sa 25:18.—Parker, vol. vii., p. 76. 1Sa 25:29.—H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, The Children’s Bread, p. 113; F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 168. 1Sa 25:32.—J. Van Oosterzee, Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 445. 1Sa 26:6.—F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 187. 1Sa 26:25.—Parker, vol. vii., p. 44. 1Sam 26—W. M. Taylor, David King of Israel, p. 95. 1Sa 27:1.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 439; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 291; F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 199. 1Sam 27-31.—W. M. Taylor, David King of Israel, p. 123. 1Sa 23:3.—C. J. Vaughan, Sunday Magazine, 1872, p. 777. 1Sa 28:3-19.—G. Mason, A Pastor’s Legacy, p. 429. 1Sa 28:6.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. x., p. 139. 1Sa 28:7.—Parker, vol. vii., p. 47. 1Sa 28:7-25.—Expositor, 2nd series, vol. iii., p. 424, and vol. iv., p. 111. 1Sa 28:11.—B.J. Snell, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 140; J. M. McCulloch, Sermons on Unusual Subjects, p. 13. 1Sam 28—W. Hanna, Sunday Magazine, 1865, p. 609.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v4 1 Samuel
1 Samuel
LOVE FOR HATE, THE TRUE QUID PRO QUO
Read full note →
1Sa 24:4 - 1Sa 24:17.
A sudden Philistine invasion had saved David, when hard pressed by Saul, and had given him the opportunity of flight to the wild country on the west of the Dead Sea, near the place where En-Gedi {‘the Fountain of the Wild Goat’} sparkles into light on the hill above the weird lake. In these savage gorges Saul’s three thousand men would be of little use against the light-footed outlaw and his troop. The whole district is seamed with ravines, and these are honeycombed with great caverns, where dangerous outcasts still lurk and defy capture. Travellers go into raptures over the beauty of some of these ‘fairy grottoes’ draped with maiden-hair fern, cool and moist, and blessedly dark after the fierce light outside. In some one of these the beautiful story which makes our lesson occurred.
I. We have the scene in the cave. The interior would be black as night to one looking inward with eyes fresh from the blinding glare of such sunlight upon limestone, but it would hold a glimmering twilight for one looking outward, with eyes accustomed to the gloom. David and his men, keeping close to the walls and hiding behind angles, might well be unobserved by Saul at the mouth, and probably never looking in at all. How vividly the whispered eagerness of the outcasts round David is reproduced! They think it would be ‘tempting Providence’ to let such a chance slip. They put a religious varnish on their advice. It would be almost impious not to kill Saul, for here was the hand of God evidently fulfilling a prophecy! There may have been some unrecorded prediction of the sort which they seem to quote; but more probably they are only referring to David’s designation to the crown, which they had come to know. It never struck them as possible that it could ‘seem good’ to a wise man not to cut his enemy’s throat when he could do it without danger to himself. So they would watch David stealing down quietly to the place where the unconscious king was crouching, and getting close behind him, knife in hand. How disgusted they must have been when the blade, that flashed for a moment in the light at the cave’s mouth, was not buried in Saul’s great back, but only hacked off the end of his robe spread out behind him! No personal animosity was in David. However he had been driven to consort with outlaws, and to live a kind of freebooter’s life, his natural sweetness was unspoiled, and was reinforced by solemn veneration for the sanctity of the Lord’s anointing, which he reverenced all the more because himself had received it. He clambered back to his disappointed men, and, as soon as he was up in the dark again, his chivalry and his religion made him ashamed of his coarse practical jest. The humour of the thing had tempted him to do it; but it was a rude insult, which lowered him more than it did Saul, and, like a true man, he blushes there in the gloom at what he has done. Then he has to defend himself to his men for not coming up to their expectations, and he does it by insisting on the sacredness which still surrounded Saul as ‘the Lord’s anointed.’ David knew that the unhappy king had been rejected and forsaken by ‘the Spirit of the Lord,’ and that he himself was the true bearer of the regal unction; but he will not take the law into his own hands, and still regards Saul as his ‘lord.’ He sets the example, much needed by us all, of leaving God to carry out His purposes at His own time, and patiently waiting till that time comes. He had hard work to keep his men from rushing down on the king; but, having commanded himself, is able to restrain them. How many virtues may be in exercise in one action! Here we have generosity, clemency, sensitiveness of conscience, reverence, self-abnegation, patience, loyalty, firmness, sway over lower natures for high ends,-a whole constellation shining star-like in the dark cavern.
II. We have, next, David’s pathetic remonstrance. Saul was alone, and David could easily escape among the cliffs, if the king summoned his men; but he risks capture, in the gush of ancient friendship. His words are full of nobleness, and his silence is no less so. He has no reproaches, no anger nor hate. He will not even suppose that Saul has followed his own impulses in his persecution, but assumes that he has been led astray by calumnies. He points to the fragment of Saul’s robe in his hand as the disproof of the lie that he had designs against him, and passionately asserts his innocence now and in all the past. He compares himself to some timid wild thing, like one of the goats among the cliffs, and Saul to a hunter. He solemnly calls God to judge between them, and appeals from the slanders and misjudgings of men to the perfect tribunal of God, to whom he commits his cause. He abjures all intention of striking at Saul in his own defence. He quotes, in true Eastern manner, a scrap of proverbial wisdom, which contains the homely truth that character determines action; for it needs a wicked man to do a wicked thing, and he implies that he is not wicked, and that Saul knows that well enough,-by what has just happened, if by nothing else. Then he puts his own insignificance and the disproportion between him and his ragged band and the imposing force of Saul in vivid light by his half-humorous and wholly humble description of himself as a ‘dead dog,’ and a ‘flea’; as harmless as the one, as hard to catch as the other, as little important as either. Finally, he reiterates his devout reference of the whole cause to God, and his fixed resolution to take no steps to right himself, but to leave all to Him.
So ought we to deal with slanders and enmity. The eternal law for us in all opposition and hostility is enshrined in David’s noble words and deeds. To repay evil with benefits, to abstain from retaliation when it is in our power, to keep our tongues from bitter and wounding words, to appeal to the adversary’s better self, even at the cost of our own ‘dignity,’-all that is not easy nor usual among professing Christians. But it ought to be. David’s Lord, ‘when He suffered, threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.’ We are poor followers of Him, if David surpasses us in patience and magnanimity. It has taken nineteen hundred years to teach us that passive endurance is more heroic than fighting for our own hand, and that repaying scorn and hate with their like is less noble than meeting them with endless forgiveness.
Psa 7:1 - Psa 7:17 is all but universally regarded as David’s, and as belonging to this period. In it we find a clause, ‘I have delivered him that without cause was mine enemy,’ which may fairly he supposed to refer to the scene in the cave, and we read the same vehement protestations of innocence, the same figure of himself as a hunted wild animal, the same appeal to God’s judgment, as in his remonstrance with Saul. The psalm is the poetic echo of our lesson.
III. We have the momentary melting of Saul’s heart. He breaks into passionate weeping. With that sudden flashing out into vehement emotion, so characteristic of him throughout, and, in these latter days of his life, so significant of enfeebled self-control, he recognises David’s generous forbearance in its contrast to his own hate, which, for the moment, he feels to be causeless. There is a piteous remembrance of the days when David soothed him by song, in his mention of the sweet ‘voice,’ and some rekindling of ancient love in his calling him ‘My son.’ Then follow the sad words which confess the hopelessness of his struggle against the divine purpose, and his appeal for mercy to his house. The picture may well move solemn thoughts and pity for that scathed and solitary soul, seeing for a moment, as by a lightning flash, the madness of his course, and yet held so fast in the grip of his dark passions that he cannot shake off their tyranny.
Two great lessons are taught by that tragic figure of the weeping and yet unchanged king. One is of the power of forbearing gentleness to exorcise hate. The true way to ‘overcome evil’ is to melt it by fiery coals of gentleness. That is God’s way. An iceberg may be crushed to powder, but every fragment is still ice. Only sunshine that melts it will turn it into sweet water. Love is conqueror, and the only conqueror, and its conquest is to transform hate into love. The other lesson is the worthlessness of mere feeling, which by its very nature passes away, and, like unstored rain, leaves the rock in its obstinate hardness more exposed. Saul only increased his guilt by reason of the fleeting glimpse of his folly which he did not follow up; and our gleams of insight into some sin and madness of ours but add to our responsibility. Emotion which does not lead to action hardens the heart, and adds to our guilt and condemnation.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 David spares Saul's Life at Engedi
David spares Saul's Life at Engedi
We have a similar incident narrated in 1 Samuel 26, and some critics hold that the two are merely varying accounts of the same event. But it. is to be noticed that almost every detail that could vary, does vary. Nor is there any difficulty in supposing that David spared Saul's life twice.
Read full note →
2. Rocks of the wild goats] Some cliffs near Engedi, so called because wild goats congregated there. They are still numerous in this district.
3. Sheepcotes] These were rough, stone walls, built to protect the sheep from wild beasts. Thomson writes: 'There is scarcely a cave in the land. but has such a cote in front of it.'
4. It is probable that we should translate 'Behold the day on which the Lord saith to thee,' i.e. they interpret the opportunity as a manifest sign of God's intention that Saul should be slain.
7. Stayed] The word is a very strong one and shows that David had to exert all his authority.
10. Rather, 'The Lord delivered thee today into mine hand and bade me kill thee': see on 1Sa_24:4.
19. The Lord reward thee good] Gleams of his former high character still show themselves in Saul.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. In the wilderness of En-gedi (1Sa 24:1-8)
CHAPTER 24
1. In the wilderness of En-gedi (1Sa 24:1-8)
Read full note →
2. David’s words to Saul (1Sa 24:9-15)
3. Saul’s answer to David (1Sa 24:16-22)
Saul continues in the pursuit of David and with 3000 chosen men he sought David at the rocks of the wild goats. It was in En-gedi, which means “the fountain of the young goat.” There were wild rocks and the fountains of water and here David had found his refuge and strongholds. God trained him also amidst the hardships and difficulties suggested by the rocks, while the fountain suggests the refreshing which was also his blessed portion. Perhaps in that trying wilderness he poured out his heart in the way as recorded in Psalm 63. It is certain that he developed constantly in his faith and trust in God. And a test is now permitted to come upon him. Saul had entered a cave. David and his men were in the sides of the cave. But a few steps between him and the unsuspecting Saul! An uplifted sword, one stroke and Saul’s career would have been ended. Is he going to do it? Will he take his case out of the hands of the Lord and become his own avenger? And his men remind him of an unrecorded word, which the Lord had spoken to David (verse 4) which David might have used to justify the slaying of Saul. Faith conquers. He looks upon Saul as being still the Lord’s anointed and only cut off a part of the skirt of Saul’s garment. What magnanimity it was! And even for this his tender conscience smote him. A marvellous, eloquent address to King Saul was delivered by David. He tells him all what he had done and what is in his heart and thus shows the purpose of his soul to leave it all with the Lord. This is faith’s language. The Man of God who walks by faith can await the Lord’s own time. And thus the case was not Saul against David, but Saul fighting David’s Lord. The outcome is obvious. And Saul? His reply, given in the voice of weeping, acknowledged the wrong he had done and the righteous cause of David as well as the future of David, that he would receive the Kingdom of Israel. He also made David swear not to cut off his seed. He is broken down and deeply moved. Yet his heart is unchanged.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Saul in the Cave
Saul in the Cave
v. 1. And it came to pass, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, just as soon as he had repulsed the invaders, made them desist from their raid, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the Wilderness of Engedi, where the many caves in the limestone hills offered excellent places for concealment.
Read full note →
v. 2. Then Saul, still filled with the same bloodthirstiness which had brought him to the Wilderness of Maon, took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats, for, due to the wildness and steepness of the hills in this neighborhood, it was a favorite haunt of ibexes, or wild goats.
v. 3. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, a locality with large caves which had been fitted up to house sheep, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet, to do his easement; and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave, they were in the rear of the cave or in some of its side passages.
v. 4. And the men of David said unto him, for they could plainly see Saul, as they looked toward the light, while Saul’s eyes could not penetrate the darkness in the rear, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Their reference seems to be only to what they considered a divine ordering of this favorable opportunity to take revenge upon Saul. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily, a corner of his upper garment, which Saul had evidently laid aside.
v. 5. And it came to pass afterward that David’s heart smote him, his conscience bothered him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt, for since he regarded the person of Saul as sacred, he feared that Saul might consider his act a violation of his royal majesty.
v. 6. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. Saul still held the office and had the dignity of a king in Israel, and for that reason his person, in the eyes of David, was inviolable.
v. 7. So David stayed his servants with these words, literally, "rent to pieces, cut down," said of a solemn rebuke, and suffered them not to rise against Saul, for the purpose of taking bloody revenge upon the oppressor. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way. David’s act was one of true magnanimity. Christians should always remember to leave vengeance to God, for He will requite in an adequate and just manner.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5 he was told
he was told
This can be translated in active form. AT: "someone told him" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
wilderness of Engedi
Engedi is a place in Israel west of the Dead Sea where there is water with dry land all around it.
three thousand
3,000 (See: Numbers)
chosen men
men whom he had chosen because of their superior military abilities
translationWords
Saul (OT)
Philistines
David
desert
chosen one
Israel
goat
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2, 4, 5, 6 24:2 3,000 elite troops: David’s force was outnumbered five…
24:2 3,000 elite troops: David’s force was outnumbered five to one (23:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.