Trusting in God’s Righteousness and Faithfulness
1 Samuel 26
Turn to 1 Samuel 26. Within the chapters in our study of 1 Samuel 24-26, we have two of them that show the great heart of David, his patience, graciousness, and mostly his faith as he is willing to allow God to take charge in his life. However, in our study two weeks ago (ch 25) we also saw how David somewhat lost that quality, as it required Abigail to come between Nabal and the anger of David against him. And so, last week, we took a hard look at David’s life and saw some of the cracks. And I would suggest that this is a little like the tale of our lives, as we may go through one event or season where we do very well in allowing God to lead, it seems like the Lord is doing much in and through us; only to have an event or season in-between where we sort of feel distant from God. And as we said that we need to be realistic with David, as we cannot look at his life and try to ignore his faults. So too, we cannot look at David’s life and ignore his steps of faith. As we have said many times that David is not the hero here in these stories, but that God is the hero, as we need to acknowledge this in our own lives as well. As great things that are accomplished in our lives must come from the hand of God. And it is only our willingness to be used by Him to accomplish such things. And when we are less willing, God at times will work despite us.
So, let me just take a couple of minutes to help place us back in our story. Remember David is out in the countryside running from Saul. Saul is still king, still very powerful; yet David has been promised to be the next king. And a few weeks ago, David was hiding in a cave with his men and by happenchance Saul came in to use the bathroom and remember David’s men thought at the time that this was his time to grab the kingdom. But David would not, and simply cut a piece of Saul’s robe, and later making it know to Saul that David had Saul at his mercy, unbeknownst to Saul, to which Saul began an apologetic speech that David was more righteous than him, and they simply both parted ways. And when the story in chapter 24 ends, we are sort of are left with the idea that Saul has made his peace with David, yet with no hint of how the change in power from Saul to David will occur.
Now in the next chapter (1 Sam 25) it is not David’s men this time who are the hotheads, it is David, as he is challenged by this rich guy named Nabal. And any grace that David was willing to show Saul (ch 24) is gone. And this time it is Abigail, Nabal’s wife, who is the one who calms down the violence, and the story ends with David taking Abigail as his wife. And so, now we come to 1 Samuel 26.
“Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ‘Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?’ So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.”
1 Samuel 26:1-2 (LSB)
So, we find out early here that Saul’s reconciliation with David and his apology to David is short-circuited here and he seems to have changed his mind and keeps going after David.
“And Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, beside the road. Now David was staying in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. So David sent out spies and knew that Saul was certainly coming. David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, as well as Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, ‘Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?’ And Abishai said, ‘I will go down with you.’”
1 Samuel 26:3-6 (LSB)
Interesting here that this fellow named Ahimelech, not to confused with Ahimelech the priest, is never mentioned in the Scriptures before this and is never be mentioned again. Maybe he should have said, I will go too, so that he would get a chance to have some kind of impact. Times when we miss out on some spiritual significance simply because we are content to sit at home and content doing something else. Anyway, just found it interesting that he is included here, but doesn’t respond for this chance in ministry. And it is interesting that Abishai is mentioned later in the life of David, as he will come across as a man who was eager to fight.
“So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has surrendered your enemy into your hand; so now, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.’ But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him, for who can send forth his hand against the anointed of Yahweh and be without guilt?’ David also said, ‘As Yahweh lives, surely Yahweh will smite him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. Yahweh forbid that I should send forth my hand against the anointed of Yahweh; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.’”
1 Samuel 26:7-11 (LSB)
Here David is the same David of 1 Samuel 24, and is acting like Abigail did in 1 Samuel 25.
“So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.”
1 Samuel 26:12 (LSB)
We do have to smile here when we read that David grabbed the spear. He originally told Abishai to grab it but then likely thinking that it would be best to not let Abishai hold the spear when it is that close to Saul’s head, for he was a pretty zealous guy. In other words, he did not trust Abishai that close to Saul’s head.
“Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, ‘Will you not answer, Abner?’ Then Abner answered and said, ‘Who are you who calls to the king?’ So David said to Abner, ‘Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As Yahweh lives, all of you must surely die because you did not keep watch over your lord, the anointed of Yahweh. So now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.’ Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, ‘Is this your voice, my son David?’ And David said, ‘It is my voice, my lord the king.’ He also said, ‘Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? So now, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If Yahweh has incited you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before Yahweh, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, “Go, serve other gods.” So now, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of Yahweh; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one pursues a partridge in the mountains.’”
1 Samuel 26:13-20 (LSB)
We do get a glimpse here of part of the heartache of David. Notice what he says (vs 19) “for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’” We sense the fear here in David that we may not necessarily understand. Though Saul has acted evil in many ways, David still views the blessing and choosing of the nation of Israel through the eyes of His chosen king, in this case Saul. And because Saul rejects him, David fears that he is outside of Israel’s blessing. This is why he says that they have driven me out so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of Yahweh. Do you hear the fear here? And this to David is like, if I am not part of Isarel to serve Yahweh, then basically, I am left to serve other Gods. This is a good lesson for us that we see the importance of being part of the people of God, that yes, we come to Christ individually, but when we are united with Christ, we are then part of a people. So vital for us to long for the fellowship and the belonging of a group of believers.
“Then Saul said, ‘I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.’ And David replied, ‘Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it. Now Yahweh will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to send forth my hand against the anointed of Yahweh. Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of Yahweh, and may He deliver me from all distress.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.’ So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.”
1 Samuel 26:21-25 (LSB)
There are two somewhat surprising things when we read this story. One, is David’s reverting back to his gracious character; and two, Saul did not seem to learn anything from his last encounter with David. In other words, why did Saul speak so kindly to David in chapter 24, and yet he is bent here on pursuing David again here in chapter 26? It would also be interesting to know how David felt when he sent out his troops and they come back to him and say, yes, Saul is after you again. Now the difference in this story of course, is that David is not hiding, but this time, he goes down into Saul’s camp at night and is the aggressor. And before reading this story we might wonder what David is thinking here. I mean he could convince himself that he needs to get rid of Saul, after all, Saul has not changed at all from the last encounter. In other words, being merciful to Saul the first time obviously did nothing, for he cannot be trusted as his words mean nothing. But again, I would suggest that David sees Saul as God’s anointed. And for David to take action against him would be like fighting against God, and therefore, risking losing the inheritance that is for God’s people. And than I smile when Abishai says, David, God has given your enemy into your hands, and then his words, let me pin him to the ground, I will not strike him twice.
I am not a hunter or a fisherman. When Anne and I lived up in Blind River, other than playing hockey with a group of men, I was a poor excuse for a Northerner, even the women intimidated me. Apparently, the Tim Hortons in Blind River is the busiest Tims in Ontario. And in the winter, there are always women driving into the parking lot there in their snowmachines, four-wheelers, or pick-ups. We even laugh; there were grade eight girls in our youth group trying to explain to me how to skin a partridge, as David mentions pursuing a partridge (vs 20), something about stepping on their wings and pulling their legs. And I was like, well yeh, that’s nothing, I like growing pink roses. But you who are real men or real women, know that if you saw a deer or moose right there in your sight, you would likely say, let me have just one shot at him. And I do think we need to understand the frustration of David’s men, as they have been chased across the countryside for two years now, and this is the second time that David will let Saul walk away.
So, we have read the story. David grabs the spear, stands on the hill. He calls out to Saul and Abner and all their men. And Saul replies with almost the same speech as before and again, they both part ways. Interesting the words here by Saul (vs 25) “Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail,” as these are the last recorded words we have of Saul speaking with David. Well, there are so many lessons from this story. But let me give you two thoughts about men and women, but then I wish to close with a statement about God. First thought about men and women:
- Human intentions so often fail.
I think back to the two speeches of Saul, where both times he is remorseful for his actions against David. And I believe we would have to say they were also sincere, for on both occasions, he could have turned on David and likely killed him. For remember Saul’s men greatly outnumbered David’s men, and Saul is not standing here with a knife at his throat. Yet just because we may be sincere in our intentions, it does not mean that good intentions will end in good results. In other words, there may have been much in the heart of Saul to do what was right, but that does not mean that he will. In fact, there is no proof in the Bible that the human heart can produce the right results. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can know it?” (Jer 17:9) So, this does not mean that people may not want to do the right thing; or, like Saul, be very hurt by their own actions and feel remorseful for what they have done. Yet it is the change that is the problem, as change in the human heart is the problem. As we can, at best, only change from being sinful to less sinful. second thought about men and women:
- Human success does not satisfy.
Humans can be stubborn. I mean, I can be as stubborn as anyone. Some people can strive for something whether in sports or politics or work and accomplish great things by just putting their nose to the grindstone and never turning back. Some of you many be familiar with the name Scottie Scheffler. He is the top-rated golfer in the world today. And he is very well respected as a golfer and a person. Sheffler was interviewed this week prior to playing in the British Open, In the last ten tournaments he has played in, he has won three of them and finished in the top ten in all ten of them. And Scottie Scheffler has been outspoken about his faith in Christ. And he said this about his accolades in golf and the idea of his success inspiring others, “I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what’s the point? This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.” He went on to says this, “I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life … But does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”
And my point is this, even when human effort can accomplish great things, it cannot accomplish spiritual things, eternal things that really matter. In other words, the effort is meaningless. And meaninglessness does not mean that it is without meaning. It means that there is no permanent value of the action or character of the individual. In other words, it does not mean the actions do not matter or are completely worthless, but futile, in the sense that they do not gain permanent profit or have eternal value. Here Saul is the king in Israel, and he actually has the support of David. But remember when Saul took upon himself to do the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samual, Samuel said to Saul:
“You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.”
1 Samuel 13:13 (LSB)
In other words, this kingship by Saul, though it had its perks and attention from people—as likely would being the best golfer in the world—yet could never satisfy Saul’s deepest desires and wants. Because human success can never satisfy, and unfortunately, many humans never realize this until life is over. Human intensions so often fail, and human success does not satisfy. So, I like what Scottie Scheffler said, “So, what is the point?” Well, let me close with this thought about God.
“And David replied, ‘Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it. Now Yahweh will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to send forth my hand against the anointed of Yahweh. Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of Yahweh, and may He deliver me from all distress.’”
1 Samuel 26:22-24 (LSB)
There are two words that somewhat jump out at us from this statement of David’s, righteousness and faithfulness. It is interesting that this spear had been used on a few occasions to try and kill David. And one time we read that Saul even tried to kill his son Jonathan with it. And I am sure it was used many times to kill Saul’s enemies. And here we are talking about wartime and battle, as I am sure that many men at this time known for being greatly skilled as warriors. But remember when David was standing before Goliath, and he gave his incredible speech, as Goliath was taunting him, David said:
“This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:46-47 (LSB)
And now here we have David saying to Saul in this week’s story, Saul, you can have your spear back, for the Lord does not save by sword or spear, for the battle is His. And in David’s speech today, he really gives us two bases for spiritual success, the kind of success that satisfies even the deepest places in our hearts: God’s righteousness and God’s faithfulness. Remember in last chapter David was ready to kill Nabal and yet he listened to the voice of Abigail. And there were two significant things that Abigail said to David in her speech to him. One, David, when Yahweh deals with Nabal, insinuating his eventual death; and two, when Yahweh appoints you ruler over Israel. John Woodhouse wrote about today’s story with Saul:
“David’s restrain was because he trusted in God. David did not know how the Lord would deal with Saul, but trust in God means believing that God’s promises will come to pass in God’s time and in God’s way. It was not for David to take, in Abishai’s way.”
John Woodnouse, 1 Samuel” Looking for a Leader 491
We know that as humans, that even our best of intensions can fail We know that human success cannot satisfy. Yet what we can trust in is God righteousness and God’s faithfulness. We looked at the last words that Saul spoke to David:
“Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.”
1 Samuel 26:25a (LSB)
Why? because of David. Because David was skilled himself? He certainly was very ambitious. Because he stood up to Goliath? Oh, but also David was known for his deception at times, wasn’t he? As last week, we saw many of the cracks in David’s life. So why would David accomplish much and surely prevail? Who is responsible for all these fulfilled promises? David or God? Man, or Yahweh. Who would win the battles? The sword, the spear, or does the battle belong to the Lord? What are you trusting in? This is really life’s greatest question or at least one of them. And I ask the question, what are you trusting in? because we know that our own righteousness is tainted and our own faithfulness is tainted. In other words, how can something that is not perfect still be considered righteous or faithful?
I think the overwhelming truth as we study these stories is that God is at work. Even as we are reading this story, we may have been thinking, wow, David and Abishai must have been so careful and quiet to get to Saul, take his spear and get away, with no one knowing! That feat was incredible that no one woke up. I mean all our grandkids have to do when they are staying overnight is turn over and I hear them. Oh, but then we read (vs 12) “a sound sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.” Yes, David and Abishai were likely very quiet, but who saved them? You know, the care of the believer is not always that explainable, is it?
One of the greatest truths in the Bible regarding the righteousness of God is not only that we are to trust in His righteousness, but that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is granted to those who are joined with Christ. Paul begins his teaching (Rom 3) by saying that “none are righteous.” Why? He says, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And then he goes on the explain that we receive righteousness through faith in Christ. And he adds saying (Phil 3:9) “and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith.” And notice there that righteousness is not attained through achievement, no, we receive righteousness “upon faith.” In other words, this is a righteousness apart from works, so that no man may boast. You know, there is something in our relationship with God—and it is likely one of the greatest challenges to us as Christians—and that is to trust in the righteousness of God and the faithfulness of God. And I would suggest that the more we trust in God righteousness and God’s faithfulness, and not on ourselves, the deeper are spiritual growth. As some of the most spiritual people I know have such a high view of God and a humble view of themselves. And so, this is the statement I wish to leave you with: The human heart will deepen spiritually only as a person understands his dependence upon the Lord’s righteousness in him and the Lord’s faithfulness to him.
In 2 Chronicles 20, later in the history of Judah, it tells us that the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Seir came against Judah. Jehoshaphat was king, and it was told to him that a great multitude was coming against them beyond the sea. And I thought who would I like to be the king? And Jehoshaphat said I will gather all my skilled men and take those boys down. No, it actually says, “Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh, and called for a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from Yahweh.” And then it tells us, “Now all Judah was standing before Yahweh, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” And then it says this, “So Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping [Him].” Then the Bible tells us that the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel who prophesied:
“Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”
2 Chronicles 20:15b (LSB)
And the result was that the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Seir actually fought against each other. In other words, the Lord confused them so that they mistakenly turned on themselves. And when Israel came to do battle, it was already over, for the battle is God’s. You know, I find it very tiring fighting the battle, especially fighting a battle that is not mine or yours, but it’s God’s battle. We talk about in our society about fighting our own battles, but what’s the point? I believe the message of this passage and the spirit of the Scriptures is to know that every battle is God’s. And that our calling is to trust God’s in the battle, to rejoice with Him in the battle, and to see God in the battle, knowing that He is forever righteous and faithful. Let’s pray. Lord, grant us courage, strength, obedience, faithfulness, righteousness, all qualities found in Christ. May we look to You, may we find our strength in You, that You might do great things though us. And all God’s people said, amen.