Vengeance: He’s
got this!!
Our devotion is on
David and Saul, and today we come to the 26th Chapter where David
spares the lives of Saul and his men. When we last left David and Saul in
chapter 24, David had spared Saul’s life, and in return Saul had promised not
to pursue David any longer. Unfortunately, it was only a momentary repentance
on Saul’s part, because when we come to chapter 26, Saul is back to hunting
David again.
Watch out for
invitations to do things wrong
Saul had promised to
leave David alone, but then the Ziphites come to him again with information
about David’s whereabouts. This offer is the ‘best chance’, and so Saul is back
to his old tricks and off pursing David in the wilderness again. On the other
side, David learns that Saul is back too. He scouts out the area and secretly
approaches Saul’s camp. He sees where King Saul and Abner, the commander of the
army, are sleeping in the middle of the camp. Abishai is David’s nephew (1
Chronicles 2:16), goes with David. David and Abishai sneak through the sleeping
soldiers and come to Saul who is lying asleep inside the camp with his spear
stuck in the ground near his head. And so, David has yet another opportunity to
kill his enemy, Saul, who lies defenseless before him. It would have been so
easy to kill Saul here. But David refuses the offer.
Part of trusting God
to make things right is to watch out for these invitations and offers that are
tempting. You can’t trust God to make things right if you insist on doing
things wrong!
Leave room for
God to repay
Abishai was making
it easy for David. He said, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this
day”. As with the last time David could have killed Saul (1 Samuel 24:4),
Abishai pointed out that this circumstance was not an accident but designed by
God – and the design was for David to take righteous vengeance upon Saul,
“Please let me strike at once with the spear, stuck in the ground by Saul’s
head”. It all might have seemed to be perfectly given from the hand of God. But
David would not stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed. David says,“The LORD shall strike him, or his
day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish” David knew that
it wasn’t “hard” for God to take revenge on Saul anytime. The LORD was more
than able. When it came to striking down an anointed king of Israel, God did
not need the services of a godly, righteous man like David.
Proverbs 20:22 Do
not say, "I will avenge this evil!" Wait on the LORD, and He will
deliver you. If vengeance belongs to
God, it does not belong to us, so we are to love those who have harmed us or
have been difficult and never repay with maliciousness. Allow God to repay.
Trust God to
protect you
Without killing
Saul, David takes Saul’s spear and water jug, and leave the camp together with
Abishai. They make it in and out of the camp without waking anyone up, God had
put Saul and the soldiers into a deep sleep so that no one wakes up (vs12).
Once they are safely
out of the camp, David calls out to the army and especially to Abner, the
commander of the army. He rebukes Abner for not watching out for the king and
directs his attention to the missing spear and water jug that had been near
Saul’s head. The point here is to trust God, not people. Our protection comes
from God. Think about it. David and Abishai were alone in the midst of three thousand
enemy soldiers, but they were perfectly safe because God was protecting them.
On the other hand, Saul was supposed to be protected by Abner and three
thousand soldiers, and he was completely defenseless. Saul trusted his soldiers
but David’s trust was on God.
Psalm 146 says: “Do
not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their
spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to
nothing.” (Psalm 146:3-4) People will let you down, but God will never forsake
you. Trust in God, not people.
Recommended
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
sometimes we are craving revenge, and relishing the thought of harming someone
with words and deeds. Forgive us for those weak moments and let us never to
give the devil a foothold. Help us to trust you to protect us from all harm and
let no weapon formed against us prosper. Grant us grace and wisdom for this day
and always. Amen