1 Samuel 23:13-24:2013Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. 14And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. 15And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 18And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. 19Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. 21And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me. 22Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. 23See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. 24And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. 27But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. 28Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth. 29And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi. 1And 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. 2Then 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. 3And 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. 4And 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. 5And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. 6And 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. 7So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. 9And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed. 11Moreover, my father, 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 huntest my soul to take it. 12The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 15The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand. 16And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 17And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 19For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 20And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. (1 Samuel 23:13‑24:20).
Then David and six hundred men with him went into the wilderness to hide. Saul began to hunt for him, but the Lord graciously delivered him from his hand. While David was hiding from Saul, Jonathan went down to him in the woods. He told him that he knew he was to be king over Israel and, he said, “I shall be next unto thee.” Jonathan then returned to his own house, for the path of remaining with David was too difficult for him. Alas, poor Jonathan never had his desire—he did not reign with David when he became king. Instead he was slain upon the mountains of Gilboa, and died with his father whose company he had chosen instead of David’s. And so with us, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him,” 2 Timothy 2:1212If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Timothy 2:12), but if we choose the easy path, we shall miss something of the joy of reigning With Him above Jonathan was a true man of faith, but he made a sad choice to his own loss. May we be careful not to do the same. Dear young reader, how is it with you? Are you choosing this happy path of following Christ in your youth?
Saul continued hunting for David, and the men of Ziph said they would deliver him over to Saul if they found him, but they were unable to do so. Men are powerless to do any more than God allows. At last, however, Saul had David and his men hedged in, but just then the Philistines invaded the land, and Saul returned to fight against them. This gave David and his men the opportunity to find another hiding place.
When Saul returned from fighting against the Philistines, he began to hunt for David again, and at last he came right into the very cave where David and his men were hiding. Saul could not see David in the darkness; this was David’s opportunity. His men suggested that the Lord had delivered Saul into his hand, and indeed he could very easily have killed him in “self defense.” Some of his men suggested that he should do so, but David went up quietly, without Saul’s knowing it, and cut a piece off Saul’s robe.
When Saul went out of the cave, David called after him saying, “My lord the king,” and bowed himself to the ground. After this he asked Saul why he had listened to men’s words, thinking that David wanted to hurt him, for he surely did not. He told Saul he could have killed him but would not because he was the Lord’s anointed. Then holding up the piece of robe, he showed it to Saul, telling him how he had cut it off while he was asleep in the cave. He went on to say that the Lord was the judge, and that Saul’s hunting for him was like hunting for a flea or a dead dog. This lovely humble spirit on the part of David is’ so beautiful, and it broke down the heart of even wicked king Saul. What a picture of the cross, where unbelieving Israel put the Lord Jesus, and yet it became but the occasion for Him to show out the wondrous grace and goodness of His heart. While hanging there He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Saul then called David his son and began to weep. He acknowledged his guilt too, and owned that David had rewarded him good for his evil. He said that the Lord would reward David for his kindness to him. He even admitted that he knew David was to be king after him. All this, however, did not change Saul’s heart. Admitting the truth is not enough—there needs to be a turning to God in true repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
M 12/12/1954