50 David Spares Saul, Again

While he had previously (once again) engaged in a truce with Saul, David was still wary of the king, always on the alert for when Saul would renege on the agreement, and again begin his pursuit of him.

Therefore, chapter 26 is filled with reiterations of prior events, all of which showing, that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

1 David Betrayed Again

1 Samuel 26:1-4

Just as on a previous occasion, the men from the town of Ziph betrayed David, by advising Saul as to the area in which David and his men were hiding.

David was hiding in a wilderness area near the town of Hachilah, which still wasn’t very far from Carmel, where he had been in the previous chapter when he met Abigail.

As he had done previously, once Samuel received word of David’s location, he amassed three-thousand “choice” soldiers to assist him in hunting down David.

Therefore, he had obviously gone back on the truce which he and David had previously established.

Because he was only a man of the flesh, he was relying upon his overwhelming numbers of soldiers in his company, without acknowledging that David still had the advantage, of being on the Lord’s side.

David however, acted with great vigilance, by sending out spies, who then reported Saul’s location back to him.

Therefore, besides the historical events spoken of in this chapter, it also shows how believers must remain vigilant when engaging in spiritual warfare:

1 Peter 5:8

Satan (and his demonic cohorts) will always look for the weakest believer to attack.

2 Saul Left Vulnerable Again

1 Samuel 26:5-8

While David and Abishai bravely entered Saul’s camp, they found each of the three-thousand soldiers and the king in a deep sleep.

Therefore, just as it was when Saul entered the same cave where David and his men were hiding, Saul was left prone and vulnerable.

David had obviously been secure in the knowledge that the Lord was with him, and therefore it didn’t matter how many men Saul had. And once he and Abishai got to the camp, he was able to see how the Lord would deal with the overwhelming numbers against him.

This recalls the words of Paul to the Roman believers:

Romans 8:31

When David and Abishai made their way to the middle of the camp, they found Saul sound asleep with his spear stuck in the ground near his head, along with a jug of water.

In verse 8, we see that just as some of David’s men had acted before (in the cave) when Saul was also asleep and vulnerable, here, Abishai saw this as the Lord delivering Saul into David’s hand.

Just as those previously, Abishai wrongly believed that God was affording David the opportunity to kill Saul.

David, however, was now once again walking closely with the Lord and he wasn’t about to do anything, unless it was directed by God.

3 David Spares Saul, Again

1 Samuel 26:9-12

While Abishai was acting in his flesh, and therefore what he assumed would be God’s will, David understood the Lord’s will and heart concerning him, Centuries later, the apostle Paul would speak of how the believer is to be in such communion with the Lord, that he or she can have the mind of Christ:

1 Corinthians 2:16

Because he had the mind of the Lord, David understood that despite his actions and failures, Saul was still the anointed king of Israel. And therefore, only the Lord could remove him from that position.

In verse 10, we see David’s attitude, as he speaks of how God would deal with Saul, in His time and way:

1 Samuel 26:10

David understood that it would be up to the Lord to avenge Saul, which is also the attitude that Paul presented, once again in his epistle to the church at Rome:

Romans 12:19

While Abishai volunteered to kill Saul, thus keeping David from literally shedding the king’s blood, David proclaimed that he was the man God had anointed as king, and therefore no one should stretch their hand out against him.

David would however, take the spear and water jug before they left the camp without being discovered.