When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
- 1 Samuel 24:16-21
 
We want to pull on an interesting thread today, the kind of thread that’s tough to pull on in a sermon and that doesn’t often come up in a small group. This is one of the perks for subscribing to the Connect Devotional.
 
What would have happened if David had killed Saul in the cave?
 
David’s men thought that knife in the dark would have ended the army’s pursuit of them through the wilderness. They thought David would receive a shortcut to a kingship. But would it?
 
Saul’s dynasty came crashing to an end because he refused to honor the Lord wholeheartedly. His unrighteousness had consequences, as it always does for each of us. This is why we depend wholeheartedly on Jesus – he gives us access to a righteousness we would never have had on our own and takes on himself the full consequences of our sins.
 
Saul’s little comment to David – “You are more righteous than I” – isn’t just a nice phrase. It becomes a commentary on why David will be king instead of … this is important … Saul’s son. You see, David isn’t replacing Saul. Saul will be king until the day he dies (and SPOILERS David won’t be the one to kill him).
 
What would have happened if David had stabbed Saul in the dark? Saul’s son Jonathan would have become king. Israel would likely have copied the patterns of dynastic succession followed in the surrounding nations. The 3000 men who followed Saul would likely have transferred their loyalty to Jonathan, who would have been honor-bound to avenge his father.
 
Keep pulling on this thread. Earlier in the narrative in 1 Samuel, we’re told that David and Jonathan had become terrific friends. They respected and loved each other. Jonathan even saved David’s life when Saul decided to kill him, although he did it secretly. And Jonathan had a reputation as a brave warrior, full of faith and trust in the Lord, and worthy of the respect of his troops.
 
Would David have battled Jonathan and tried to overthrow him? Would they have made peace? Would Jonathan have abdicated the throne? Would the 3000 person-strong army have allowed any of this?
 
The easy, obvious shortcut that appeared in that cave in En Gedi might not actually have been as strategic as it seemed. The reasonable “sure thing” wasn’t actually sure. In reaching for his goal, David might have rendered achievement of that goal beyond his reach.
 
The same Lord who place Goliath and the Philistines into David’s hands, the same Lord who placed Saul into David’s hands (a phrase repeated four times in this week’s passage), this same Lord will place the kingship in David’s hands.
 
What if the good things the Lord wants to give you aren’t things you need to grasp or achieve but blessings for you to accept and receive? Where do you need to relax your striving this week?