Old Testament: 1 Samuel 23-25
Poetry: Psalm 69
New Testament: Galatians 3
1 Samuel 24 contains one of my most favorite stories in all of scripture.
David, the prophesied King of Israel, the chosen, warrior king whom Saul rejected but whom a number of people adored, is living in a cave. And, speak of the devil, Saul walks right into that self-same cave to relieve himself.
… Saul goes out to hunt David and goes into a cave to sit upon his “throne”.
David had Saul dead to rights.
He had caught Saul with his pants down (or his robe up) and was close enough and stealthy enough to cut his robe.
Is there any more humiliating, powerless position to be in?
So the question is : why didn’t he kill Saul and end it?
Saul has tried to pin David to the wall.
Saul is currently tracking David’s whereabouts with 3000 men.
Saul is doing this though all David ever did was to honor his king.
Still, David does not end the pursuit; he allows God to be the one who brings justice.
“May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.” (1 Sam. 24:12)
David did not rebel against Saul, David did not hate Saul.
David gave Saul pity on the potty,
Mercy in the men’s room,
Compassion on the commode.
You probably won’t have a king chasing you through the wilderness, but you may have enemies. People who hate you. People who want the worst for you.
Jesus, however, teaches us to be compassionate in the way David is compassionate.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matt. 5:38-42)
Jesus gives us this command because there are times when we are being chased and we need to cut the robe… and there are times when we are the ones on the toilet.
The times when we are the hero doing right by another and the times where we are the villain who looks like a madman.
Jesus forgives us in all of these situations and desires that we live and love better.
We are called to do to others what we desire done for us. (Matt. 7:12)
We are called to desire *and work for* the good, even the best, of the other. (Matt. 5:43-48)
“Be perfect,” Jesus says after speaking of loving your enemies, “as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
God has spared us, even as we were his enemies.
God gave us pity, mercy, and compassion.
God, through Jesus, teaches us to forgive ostentatiously and go beyond what is “necessary,” to not just show love but be love to our enemies.
So the next time you find your enemy in the cave where you are hiding and they are in your hands,
Give them the love of God… while they are in the loo.
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
- Grace, Grace, God’s Grace: Have you given your heart to the Lord, to trust in his grace, mercy, and love? God loves you, he wants to forgive your sins, and give you eternal life in his presence. However, his love calls to us rather than demanding from us. Will you trust in the God who desires the best for you, even when you were his enemy?
- Your own Saul: Do you have an enemy chasing you down? What does that look like in your life? Jesus asked for forgiveness for the people currently involved in killing him (Lk. 23:34); so he calls you to forgive those who are “seeking your life”. If that feels impossible, ask for the strength of the God who does the “impossible,” and he will make the impossible possible.
- Be David, Not Saul: Are *you* chasing someone else down? Are you seeking someone’s life; bent on revenge, or “justice”, or “fairness”, or “making them feel like I felt”? You are called to let it go. Saul is the bad guy, the madman, and God judges against him because he is so focused on his own glory, rather than focused on what God was doing through his people and his anointed. Be David, not Saul, and let the Lord bring about his will.
Seek Grow Love 