And it came to pass when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.
Saul comes home from fighting the Philistines. Before he can settle, a report reaches him about David at En-gedi — and the king turns from the nation's enemy to hunt one man.
Saul had a national enemy to fight and a personal rival to chase. Only one of them held his attention.
"And David went up and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi." Saul pursues him there, after following the Philistines. He is more occupied with his jealousy of the king whom God had chosen than with the enemies of his people. But this expedition does him no credit.
Another writer notes that Saul's war effort was half-hearted from the start:
Saul's campaign against the Philistines, like all his work, was only partial. In fact, we are not told any details here, or whether there was a real clash of arms. As soon as he can turn away from the Philistines, he takes up again the more congenial task he had set himself — seeking David's life.
Saul's march folds two very different targets into one trip:
Saul, back from his campaign against the Philistines, gathers three thousand chosen men to seize David. So in the same pursuit he includes Israel's enemies and her savior. An outward zeal for safeguarding the people of God can very well team up with a real hatred for Christ.
The force Saul raises is out of all proportion. The nation he is not defending pays for it.
With 600 men with him, David could not easily stay hidden, and Saul gets the report that he is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Saul was not exactly a brave man himself. He needed 3000 chosen men of Israel — five times as many as were with David — to go with him and seek David and his men. So the people of Israel pay for the army, and their king uses it not for Israel's benefit but for his own wicked project! He would let nothing stand in the way of killing David.
The wilderness of En-gedi lay in Judah, David's own tribal land:
Saul is away meeting the Philistines. That gives David the opportunity to move from the threatened hiding place of Ziph to a new refuge among the strongholds of En-gedi. When we remember that all of this took place in the wilderness of Judah, David's own tribe, it deepens the pathos of his position. In a certain sense he had come to his own, and his own had not received him.
The place was harsh, but its name points to water.
His refuge now is En-gedi, "the fountain of the goat." The high hills are a refuge for wild goats. This rugged mountain country no doubt sheltered many of these climbers... But here, among the frowning crags with their many caves, the fountain is still there. He is not cut off from the refreshment this suggests. How wonderful that the child of God never needs to leave that up-springing well which is his! It is there in all his conflicts and in all his efforts to escape the attacks of the flesh.
One writer links these days to the songs David wrote in them:
David at this time no doubt wrote some of his sweetest psalms. We can think of Psalm 63 as the expression of his soul: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." No water for nature, but, as we have just seen, a refreshing spring for faith.
This verse opens a chapter that ends with Saul humiliated — not by force, but by David's restraint.
David must endure this pressure. But in the end he will learn something: the greater the violence aimed at him, the simpler and more effective are the means God uses to deliver him. David defeated Saul at Keilah by abandoning the town. The Philistine invasion foiled him at the Rock of Division. Most disgracefully of all, David's moderation and loyalty defeat him at En-gedi, for he owes David his life. Little did he know, in the malice of his heart, how by entering the cave he was thrusting himself into the grasp of his intended victim.
- Report — One report about David turns a national army into the tool of a private grudge.
- Priority — Saul is more taken up with jealousy of the king God had chosen than with the enemies of his people.
- Proportion — Three thousand picked men chase six hundred. Israel pays for the army; the king spends it on his own wicked project.
- Provision — En-gedi means "the fountain of the goat." Harsh crags, yet a spring: the child of God never leaves that well behind.
- Reversal — The greater the violence against David, the simpler God's rescue. Saul walks into the very cave where his victim waits.
And Saul took three thousand men, chosen out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
A Philistine raid has just pulled Saul away from David, and now word reaches him that his son-in-law is hiding at En-gedi, near the Dead Sea. So he raises a national army to hunt one man, marching to a place named after the goats that climb its cliffs.
Saul sends three thousand picked soldiers after six hundred, and Israel pays for it.
David had 600 men with him, so he could not hide easily. Saul gets the report that he is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Saul was not exactly a brave man himself. He needed 3000 chosen men of Israel — five times as many men as were with David — to go with him and seek David and his men. So the king uses the army, which the people of Israel pay for, not for the benefit of Israel, but for his own wicked scheme! He would allow nothing to stand in the way of his killing David.
God had just rescued David out of Saul's closing trap. You might expect that to sober the king.
But the unhappy king was in no way ashamed of himself, and he paid no attention to the lesson of the Lord. As soon as he could, he went back to hunting his dutiful son-in-law and faithful subject, David. This one object characterizes his life from now on. The clearer it was that God had stepped in to deliver, the more he wanted to seize and kill the man his evil mind turns into an enemy. So when he hears that David is in the wilderness of En-gedi, he takes three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and goes looking for him there.
The place-name is not just scenery. One writer unpacks what it means and what it pictures.
En-gedi means "the spring of the young goat," and the force of that second word is really "leaper." En-gedi reminds us of how the wilderness and the hill of difficulty become, in the wisdom of God, schools of training and producers of strength. The tread and leap of the wild goat are the very symbols of strength gained by practice and by getting over difficulties with ease. The name is explained and underlined for us where it says that Saul "went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks" — the wild goats being climbers. They were in the same circumstances with the same results. Trial and hardship were forming character, as we know. The demands they faced from day to day were producing mighty men, masters of themselves and of their circumstances.
Another writer sets the rocks and the water side by side.
There were wild rocks and the fountains of water, and here David had found his refuge and strongholds. God also trained him in the hardships and difficulties that the rocks suggest. The fountain suggests the refreshing that was also his blessed portion.
David strikes no blow here. He does not need to.
What a thing it is to have God on our side! Without our striking a single blow for ourselves, He can distract the attention of those who are harassing His people. More than that, He can so lead the enemy that the enemy ends up at the mercy of the people he wanted to persecute. For the next time that Saul and David were near each other, Saul discovered how close he had come to David and his men in the cave. With three thousand men Saul had come to seek David. Six hundred, at the most, David had.
One writer sets this army against Saul's earlier solo pursuit, then counts up his defeats.
Saul is no longer content to chase David on his own. He keeps at his plan with an organised force and a deadly purpose. David must endure this pressure. But in the end he will know this: the greater the violence used against him, the simpler and more effective are the means God uses to deliver him. David defeated Saul at Keilah by abandoning the town. The invasion of the Philistines foiled Saul at the Rock of Division. And at En-gedi he is defeated most shamefully of all — by the moderation and loyalty of David, to whom he owes his life. In the malice of his heart he had no idea that, by entering the cave, he was pushing himself into the grasp of his intended victim. Nor did he know how low this scene would humble him, morally, by the contrast between the two men.
- Hunt. Saul turns the nation's army into a private weapon. Israel pays for three thousand picked men, and Saul spends them on one loyal subject.
- Hardening. Every rescue God gives David only hardens Saul. From here, hunting David is the one aim of his life.
- Hardship. The rocks of the wild goats are a school, not just a hiding place. Difficulty makes climbers, and a fountain waits among the cliffs.
- Help. Five to one, and David never lifts a hand. God distracts the hunter, then hands him over to the man he hunts.
- Humbling. Saul enters the cave a king with an army. He leaves it humbled, beaten by nothing but David's restraint.
And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet; and David and his men were abiding in the recesses of the cave.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And David's men said to him, Behold the day of which Jehovah said to thee, Behold, I will give thine enemy into thy hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. And David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.
Saul walks alone into the cave where David and his men are hiding, and in a moment the hunter is at the mercy of the hunted. David's men see a promise coming true; David does not, and cuts only a corner of Saul's robe.
Nothing about the situation was accidental. God arranged the circumstances, and the men were not wrong that Saul was helpless.
Saul enters a cave near the sheepfolds to relieve himself and rest. At the back of the cave with his little troop is the man whom Saul wrongly considers his enemy. God's providence at this moment is delivering Saul, defenceless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself. But David's spiritual understanding is not fooled. As the rejected king, his character is grace and not judgment — it is the same with Christ. Here God's providence gives grace a fine opportunity to show itself.
The men quote God's own promise. Yet no such promise to David is on record.
They pointed out that God had indicated David would be king. But they read the facts in a way that was not quite right. We have no record that God told David He would deliver Saul into his hands, to do with him as he pleased. Yet there is no doubt that God had done this.
Commentators can only guess where the men found these words. They may have come from David himself.
We do not know exactly when these words were spoken. Most likely they come from one of the psalms. David may often have repeated or sung these inspired and inspiring lines to his lonely followers in some dark hour. Now they may have turned his own words back on him and said, "See, the hour has come when your enemy has fallen into your hands."
An open door is not the same as a command.
God has not yet carried out the sentence pronounced on Saul. Until He does, Saul still bears the name "the Lord's anointed." Whatever the evil may be, we have no right to destroy what God allows to stand... The circumstances God arranges are not meant to govern or direct our conduct. They are there to test our faith.
David had every human excuse available to him, and refused all of them.
If provocation could have justified killing Saul, David had received provocation enough. Saul had entered the cave alone. If the circumstances God arranged had been a safe guide, then surely David's time to be avenged had come. That is how his men viewed the matter, and they urged him to take advantage of his opportunity.
David did act. He cut the corner of the robe — the "skirt" in older translations. The cut was proof, not injury, and even that much troubled him.
Still, David cuts off the corner of Saul's robe. This was a token meant to give his enemy proof of the grace that was sparing him. David's heart — not his conscience — reproaches him even for this act. Seen from the outside, he had failed in the respect due to the Lord's anointed. Yet deep down he was full of grace toward his persecutor.
The scrap of cloth in his hand pointed to something larger he would one day receive.
David cut off only a little piece of the king's robe. But it may suggest to us the removal of the whole garment. The king had failed to wear it properly, and that garment would fall to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it in royal dignity and righteousness. But David will wait until the robe is given to him.
The same scene returns later. Followers reach for the sword, and their leader refuses the act.
Judas and the officers of the law closed in on our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane. He showed His almighty power: they went backward and fell to the ground. Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword and cut off — not a corner of the robe, but the ear. His holy Master would not own the act. He touches the ear and heals it.
- Opportunity. God did put Saul defenceless into David's hands. The facts were not in dispute — only what they meant.
- Interpretation. David's men quoted a promise God never gave. They treated an opportunity from God as an order from God.
- Test. God gives circumstances to test faith, not to direct it. An open door is not permission to take what He has not yet given.
- Restraint. The cut robe was proof of grace, not harm. Even that small liberty with the Lord's anointed troubled David's heart.
- Reward. He would wear that royal garment one day. But it had to be given, never seized — and Christ showed the same restraint in the garden.
And it came to pass afterwards that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
David is hiding at the back of a cave when the king hunting him walks in alone and defenceless. He cuts off only a corner of Saul's robe — so why does even that small act trouble him?
The cloth was not a trophy of revenge. David meant it as proof for Saul, and one writer explains what David felt afterwards:
Still, David cuts off the corner of Saul's robe. This was a sign meant to give his enemy proof of the grace that was sparing him. David's heart — not his conscience — reproaches him even for this act. On the outside he had failed in the respect and deference owed to the LORD's anointed, although deep down he was full of grace toward the man hunting him.
What made the cloth matter was the man who wore it. Whatever Saul had become, David's faith still saw a title on him:
Whatever Israel as a whole thought, to David's faith Saul was always "the LORD's anointed," and so deserved the deepest respect. More than once Saul's life lay in David's hand, and David would not touch him. Even when David cut off a piece of Saul's robe in the cave, his heart struck him for the reason he gave again and again: "he is the LORD's anointed." … David leaves it to the One who put Saul on the throne to take him off it, in His own time and way. In the meantime he was content to suffer, and to have Saul brand his name as evil.
There is a picture in the torn garment. The robe stood for a throne God had promised David, and David would not take even a scrap of it by his own hand:
The little piece of the king's robe that David cut off might suggest to us the removal of the whole garment from a king who failed to wear it as he should. That garment was to fall to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it with the dignity and righteousness of a king. But David will wait until the robe is given to him. Until then his heart would strike him even for taking the smallest piece of royal authority.
David's men read the moment as God handing Saul over. One writer says their reading of the facts went past what God had said:
They appealed to God's hint that David would be king, but they read the facts in a way that was not quite right (v.4). We have no record that God had told David He would hand Saul over to him, to do with him as he thought best.
The principle behind David's refusal reaches past this one cave:
As long as God has not Himself carried out the sentence He pronounced on Saul, Saul still bears the name "the LORD's anointed." Whatever the evil may be, we have no right to destroy what God allows to stand. There must of course be full separation between ourselves and evil. But we are not called to set the limits of God's patience. … The circumstances God's providence arranges are not there to govern or direct our conduct. They are there to test our faith.
This tenderness was not simply David's nature. Faced with an insult from Nabal, the same man was ready to use his sword:
We do not find David acting like this toward Saul. He left him entirely to God, and even when he was persuaded to cut off the corner of his robe, his heart struck him. Why did he not act like this toward Nabal? Because he was not in communion. He was off his guard, and the enemy took advantage of him. … the man of faith at once rises above all such things. He sees God in everything. The jealousy of Saul, the folly of Nabal — he sees it all as coming from the hand of God.
The scene points forward. One writer sets David's restraint beside the moment Peter drew his sword:
Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword and cut off, not a piece of the robe, but the ear — only to have his holy Master refuse any share in the act. He touches the ear, and heals it. It is sweet to see the mind of the Master in the heart of the man who pictured Him. We may be sure it was only the early fruit of a grace which our Lord has given, not to David only, but to all who follow Him.
- Opportunity. Saul walked into the cave, but that was a test of faith, not a command from God.
- Restraint. The sentence on Saul was God's to carry out, in God's time; David would not destroy what God still allowed to stand.
- Sensitivity. A scrap of cloth troubled him — the measure of a heart so near to God that even a small disrespect registered.
- Patience. He refused to seize by force the smallest piece of a crown he would one day receive as a gift.
- Grace. The same spirit appeared when the Master healed the ear a sword had cut, and He gives that grace to all who follow Him.
And he said to his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah's anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, for he is the anointed of Jehovah.
Saul walks alone into the cave where David and his men are hiding. His men whisper that this is the day God has handed the enemy over. David answers with a title. The man hunting him is still the one the LORD anointed, and that settles everything.
God really had put Saul in David's power. But the meaning David's men drew from it was wrong.
At the back of the cave with his little troop is the man whom Saul wrongly thinks is his enemy. God's providence at this moment is delivering Saul, defenceless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself. But David's spiritual understanding is not fooled. As the rejected king his character is grace, not judgment. It is the same with Christ. Here God's providence offers that grace a wonderful chance to show itself.
The pressure was sharper still because his men used God's own promise as their argument.
His men even quote the words of the Lord as justifying David in taking his case into his own hands... they may have turned his own words back on himself and said, "See, the hour has come. Your enemy has fallen into your hands. Will you not now fulfil that promise of God which you yourself made known to us — that He would overthrow him?"
David weighs Saul's position, not Saul's behaviour.
As long as God has not Himself carried out the sentence pronounced on Saul, Saul still bears the name "the Lord's anointed." Whatever the evil may be, we have no right to destroy what God allows to remain. No doubt we must separate ourselves fully from evil. But we are not called to set the limits of God's patience. A spiritual Christian recognises the authority God has established, even if that authority is hostile and has turned away from God. He leaves to God the care and the timing of carrying out judgment against it.
Two things that might have excused him — the wrongs done to him and the sheer convenience of the moment — are both set aside.
What God had set up, though rejected by Him, David would not raise a hand to destroy... If provocation could have justified killing Saul, David had received provocation enough. If providential circumstances had been a safe guide for David, surely, when Saul entered the cave alone, David's time to be avenged had come.
An open door is not the same as a command to walk through it.
So we see that providence may place us in a position which God would have us not use but leave. On the outside it may seem the fairest possible opportunity. But faith judges the opposite. Faith looks not to our honour but to God's; not to our ease, but to His deliverance.
David did the smallest possible thing, and even that troubled him.
Still, David cuts off the corner of Saul's robe. This was a sign meant to give his enemy proof of the grace that was sparing him. David's heart (not his conscience) reproaches him even for this act. Seen from the outside, he had fallen short of the respect and deference due to the Lord's anointed. Yet deep down he was full of grace toward the man persecuting him.
That scrap of cloth points to the kingdom David was waiting for.
But the little bit of the king's robe cut off by David might suggest to us the removal of the whole garment. Saul failed to wear it as he should, and that garment would fall to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it in royal dignity and righteousness. But David will wait for the time when he receives the robe. Until then his heart would smite him even for taking the smallest portion of royal privilege.
Refusing to strike was not passivity. David transferred the whole matter to a higher court.
He now takes higher ground, and appeals his whole case to the Lord to judge between them... but David leaves it all in God's hands. This illustrates the word, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping burning coals on his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
The scene in the cave has a counterpart in the garden, where another follower drew a sword for his king.
Judas and the officers of the law closed in on our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane. He showed His almighty power: they drew back and fell to the ground. Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword and cut off the ear, not a piece of the robe — only for his holy Master to refuse any part in the act. He touches the ear and heals it. It is sweet to see the Master's mind in the heart of the man who pictured Him.
- Opportunity. God's providence really did put Saul in the cave, but an open door is a test of faith, not a licence to act.
- Title. God has not yet carried out His sentence, so Saul still bears the name "the Lord's anointed." What God allows to remain is not ours to destroy.
- Restraint. David touched only the corner of a robe — and even that small claim on royal privilege made his heart smite him.
- Transfer. He would not avenge himself; he moved the case to the Lord as judge, overcoming evil with good.
- Reward. The robe he refused to seize by force would one day be his — the kingdom he waited for is the kingdom worn rightly.
And David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on [his] way.
David has Saul cornered in a cave at En-gedi. His men are urging him to strike, and he has already cut the corner of Saul's robe. Yet here he turns and stops them. Two men walk out of that cave alive. What restraint holds back a hunted man and his armed followers?
David's refusal covered more than his own hand. He would not let anyone else strike Saul for him either.
Saul was still his master and the Lord's anointed. Nothing could persuade David to harm a hair of his head — not by his own hand, and not through anyone else's.
That the men obeyed says something about the man they followed.
He shapes his companions by his own example. So David's character shows in everyone around him who has accepted him as their leader.
The reason David gives is not Saul's worth but Saul's title. God had anointed him, and God had not yet removed him.
Until God Himself carries out the sentence He has passed on Saul, Saul still bears the name "the Lord's anointed." However great the evil is, we have no right to destroy what God allows to remain. There must of course be full separation between us and evil. But we are not the ones who set the limits of God's patience. A spiritual Christian recognizes the authority God has set up, even when that authority is hostile and has turned away from Him. He leaves the judgement of it to God, and leaves God to choose the time. God does not arrange our circumstances to steer or direct our conduct, but to put our faith to the test.
David's men read the open cave as God handing Saul over. The circumstance was real. Their conclusion was not.
If being provoked could have justified killing Saul, David had been provoked more than enough. If circumstances were a safe guide, then David's moment for revenge had come when Saul walked into the cave alone. That is how his men saw it, and they urged him to seize his chance.
The piece of cloth in David's hand pointed at the very thing he was refusing to seize — the kingdom itself.
The small piece of the king's robe that David cut off may hint that the whole robe would be taken from the king who failed to wear it properly — a robe that was to fall to David. He would not take it by force now. One day he would wear it with royal dignity and righteousness. But David will wait until the robe is handed to him. Until then, taking even the smallest piece of royal privilege would trouble his conscience.
Ridout sees David's held-back sword as an early picture of Christ's own restraint on the night He was arrested.
When Judas and the officers of the law closed in on our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, He showed His almighty power: they drew back and fell to the ground. Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword and cut off — not a corner of a robe, but an ear — only for his holy Master to refuse any share in the act. He touches the ear and heals it. It is sweet to see the mind of the Master in the heart of the man who pictures Him. We can be sure David's restraint was an early fruit of a grace our Lord has given, not to David only, but to all who follow Him.
The second half of the verse is quiet but telling. Saul gets up and leaves, with no idea how near death had been.
Saul has little idea where he has just been. He gets up and leaves the cave, no doubt still set on capturing David.
David's restraint reaches further than revenge. It gives up even the chance to be proved right in front of others.
When we suffer unfairly, wanting to hit back is natural — not spiritual. God may give us grace to resist that temptation, so that He keeps us from any spirit of fighting for our own rights. Even then we may take a chance to expose our opponent in front of others, so they will know we are in the right. But if we are walking with God, we will want to avoid even that. Faith can trust Him to bring everything to its proper level in the end.
- Restrained. David held back his own hand and his men's as well. What the leader's conscience refused, the whole company refused.
- Respected. What God had set up, David would not pull down — Saul kept the name "the Lord's anointed" until God Himself removed him.
- Tested. The open chance was not God's guidance but His test. Circumstances prove faith; they do not steer it.
- Waited. The cut robe pictured a crown David could have grabbed; he chose to receive it as a gift rather than take it by force.
- Reflected. David's held-back sword showed the mind of Christ, who refused Peter's sword and healed the wound — a grace given to all who follow Him.
David also arose afterwards, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.
David has just had Saul at his mercy in the dark of the cave, and instead of striking, he walks out into the open and bows. The verse turns on two things: the title he uses for the man hunting him, and the posture he takes in front of him.
One writer reads David's walk out of the cave as an act of nerve, not weakness:
Not realising where he had been, Saul gets up and goes out of the cave, no doubt still set on seizing David. Now we have a most dramatic scene, one that cannot fail to stir the coldest heart. David, who had been fleeing from Saul all this time, now boldly throws himself before him. He would heap coals of fire on the king's head. He would give him such an object lesson of his loyalty that even Saul's hard heart softens for the moment. This is the self-abandonment and courage of love. Love sees the situation at a glance and makes the fullest use of it. There could hardly be a more powerful appeal to the heart and conscience of Saul. We may well believe our gracious God allowed it, for He would even yet bow that proud heart in true repentance.
David's first word to the man hunting him is a title of honour:
This occasion gives David the opportunity to make a personal appeal to Saul. When Saul is a little distance away, David calls to him, "My lord the king" (v.8). Saul turned, and David stooped and bowed himself, as was fitting to his position as the king's servant.
The bow was not affection for Saul, and not agreement with what he was doing. It rested on something outside Saul — God had once anointed him king:
Whatever Israel in general may have thought, to David's faith Saul was always "the Lord's anointed." As such he was entitled to the deepest respect. So when Saul's life lay in David's hand, once and again, David would not touch him… Did David sympathise with Saul's conduct and ways, or have fellowship with him and personal affection for him? Surely not. But David acted in the spirit of Christ — David's Son and yet David's Lord — who said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat." David leaves it to the One who put Saul on the throne to remove him in His own time and way. Meanwhile he was content to suffer, and to have his name cast out as evil by Saul.
One writer explains why the chance to kill Saul did not make it right:
God has not yet carried out the sentence He pronounced on Saul. Until He does, Saul still bears the name "the Lord's anointed." Whatever the evil may be, we have no right to destroy what God allows to remain. No doubt we must be fully separate from evil. But we are not called to set the limits of God's patience. A spiritual Christian recognises the authority God has established, even if that authority is hostile and has turned away from God. He leaves to God the care and the timing of executing judgment against it. The circumstances God allows are not meant to govern or direct our conduct. They are meant to test our faith.
The same writer explains why David answered with grace instead of the sword:
David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself. But David's spiritual insight is not fooled. As the rejected king, his character is grace and not judgment. It is the same with Christ. And God's providence here gives grace an excellent occasion to show itself.
Another writer draws the lesson for anyone suffering unfair treatment:
When we suffer unjustly it is natural (not spiritual) that we should want to retaliate. God may give us grace to resist this temptation, so that we are kept from any spirit of fighting for our own rights. Even then we may take a chance to expose our opponent in front of others, so that they will know we are in the right. But if we are walking with God we should want to avoid even this. Faith can depend on Him to bring everything to its proper level in the end.
- Anointing, not behaviour. David bows because of what God did to Saul years earlier, not because of anything Saul is doing now.
- Opportunity is a test. A circumstance that puts an enemy in your hand is meant to try your faith, not to license your hand.
- Grace, not judgment. The king in rejection answers with mercy — the same pattern seen in Christ.
- Courage, not cowardice. Stepping out of the cave to bow took more nerve than striking would have.
- Leave the verdict to God. David hands his cause to the One who put Saul on the throne and waits for Him to settle it.
And David said to Saul, Why dost thou listen to words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks thy hurt?
David has just spared Saul's life in a cave, and now steps out to call after the king who has been hunting him. His opening words are not a charge against Saul, but a question about the voices Saul has been listening to.
David had spent this whole season running. Here he does the opposite:
David, who had been fleeing from Saul all this time, boldly now casts himself before him. He would heap coals of fire upon the king's head, and give him such an object-lesson of his loyalty that even the hard heart of Saul is for the moment softened. It is the self-abandonment and courage of love, which sees the situation at once and makes fullest use of it. No appeal could reach the heart and conscience of Saul more powerfully. We may well believe our gracious God permitted it, for He would even yet bow that proud heart in true penitence.
Notice who David does not accuse. The king's hatred was no secret, yet David's question points past Saul to the men whispering in his ear:
David lays the blame of Saul's pursuit upon others, rather than upon the king himself: "Why do you listen to the words of men who say, 'Behold, David seeks your harm'?" He generously passes over the hatred that both he and Saul knew so well. He singles out only the cowardly treachery of those who stirred the king up. These no doubt shared in his wickedness, although, of course, Saul was not thereby excused. David held in his hand the witness that he could have slain Saul — a witness of his own integrity and of Saul's treachery.
Commentators differ on how much of the trouble came from advisers. One writer reads the question as a kindness Saul had not earned:
Then David asks why Saul was listening to men who said that David was seeking to harm him. David was letting Saul down easily. It was Saul's own imagination that had formed these thoughts, though others may have dishonestly added fuel to the fire.
Saul was now defenceless. David's men read that as permission. David did not:
At the back of the cave with his little troop is the man whom Saul wrongly thinks to be his enemy. God's providence at this moment is delivering Saul, defenceless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself. But David's spiritual understanding is not fooled. As the rejected king, his character is grace and not judgment. It is the same with Christ. Here God's providence offers grace a wonderful occasion to show itself.
The same restraint appears in the Gospels:
Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword. But what he cut off was not a corner of a robe: it was an ear. His holy Master would refuse any fellowship with the act. He touches the ear, and heals it. We may be sure it was but the early fruit of a grace which our Lord has given, not to David only, but to all who follow Him.
David's question puts the weight on the listener, not only the talker. The law itself warns against the same thing:
Note that the first thing forbidden is "a false report." The margin offers "receive" instead of "raise" as an alternative translation, and other versions tend to confirm this. False reports have done great harm among Christians! That it is wrong to raise them we all admit. Do we all realise the wrong of receiving them? An argument or dispute arises among Christians, and someone brings an evil or damaging report about the opponent. How tempting it is to take it at once as certainly true, when it is after all a false report. Examine any evil report with care and verify it before you accept it.
David does not defend himself by force. He hands the whole dispute over to God:
He now takes higher ground. He appeals his whole case to the Lord to judge between them. He goes further and speaks of the solemn time of vengeance which must fall if Saul persists in his course. But David leaves it all in God's hands, showing that word, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping coals of fire upon his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
- Listen — David's first question is about Saul's ears. What a man agrees to hear shapes what he goes out to do.
- Shield — David blames the whisperers, not the king. Commentators differ on how much came from advisers and how much from Saul's own mind. Either way, the question shields Saul.
- Receive — The law forbids not only raising a false report but receiving one. Check any damaging story before you believe it.
- Grace — The rejected king acts in grace, not judgment. Christ did the same when He healed the ear Peter cut off.
- Judge — Having refused to strike, David asks God to decide between them. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. David overcame evil with good.
Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had given thee this day into my hand in the cave; and they bade me kill thee; but [mine eye] spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the anointed of Jehovah.
David has just come out of the cave at Engedi. He holds a piece of Saul's robe and calls after the king who has been hunting him. His words explain a choice his own men could not understand: Saul lay within reach, and David would not kill him.
David's men read the moment as God's green light. One writer shows that they read more into it than God had said.
Some of David's men who were in the cave were in favour of killing Saul. They pointed out that God had indicated David would be king, but they read the facts in a way that was not quite right. We have no record that God told David He would hand Saul over for David to do with him as he pleased. Yet there was no doubt that God had done this.
The same moment could be read two ways. Another writer states the principle:
Providential circumstances are not ordained to govern our conduct or to direct it, but to put our faith to the test.
David had the chance and let it pass. What kind of king he was at that moment explains why.
David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself, but David's spiritual insight is not fooled. As the rejected king, his character is grace and not judgment (it is the same with Christ), and God's providence here gives grace a fine chance to show itself.
Even while hunted, David still calls Saul "my lord". His one reason for holding back is not Saul's character, but who put Saul where he was.
David would not raise a hand to destroy what God had set up, even though God had rejected it. Many since his day can surely read a lesson in this. If provocation could have justified killing Saul, David had suffered provocation enough. If circumstances arranged by God were a safe guide, then when Saul entered the cave alone, David's time for revenge had come.
This was not affection for Saul, and it did not mean David approved of him.
Was it that David had sympathy with Saul's conduct and ways, or fellowship with him and personal affection for him? Surely not. But he had the spirit of Him (David's Son and yet His Lord) who said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat." So David leaves it to the One who put Saul on the throne to remove him in His own time and way. He was content meanwhile to suffer, and to have his name cast out as evil by Saul.
David had cut the corner of the robe, and even that troubled him. One writer sees the cut cloth as a picture of the kingship itself.
The little piece of the king's robe that David cut off might suggest to us the removal of the whole garment from the king who failed to wear it rightly. That garment was to pass to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it himself, with royal dignity and righteousness. But David will wait until the robe is given to him. Until then his heart would smite him even for taking the smallest portion of royal privilege.
That same scrap of cloth had work to do on Saul.
The skirt of this cut robe serves to vindicate before Saul the character of the servant whom he was misjudging, and to open his eyes as to his own state... So God often calls sinners through circumstances where His grace has spared them. He makes them see that their state deserved judgment. Still, if anyone hardens his heart after this, he must know that judgment will not wait.
Refusing to strike did not mean David pretended nothing was wrong. He moved the case to a higher court.
He now takes higher ground. He puts his whole case to the Lord to judge between them. He goes further, and speaks of the solemn time of vengeance which must fall if Saul keeps on this course. But David leaves it all in God's hands. He shows us that word: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping coals of fire on his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
- Opportunity tests. An open door is not a command. God gave the circumstances to try David's faith, not to steer it.
- Faith answers. David's men read the cave as permission. David read it as a test.
- Grace acts. The rejected king met his hunter with grace, not judgment — the same character Christ shows.
- Title restrains. David's one stated reason was Saul's anointing, not Saul's worth; what God had set up he would not pull down.
- God settles. David would not seize the robe; he waited for it. He left the verdict, and the vengeance, to the Lord.
And see, my father, yes, 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 and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou liest in wait for my life to take it.
David is hiding deep in a cave near En-gedi when the king hunting him walks in alone. In verse 11 David steps out holding a scrap of the royal robe — proof that he could have killed Saul and chose not to.
David does not open with an accusation. The title he chooses carries both Saul's office and something warmer.
Had David listened to his advisers, he could have taken the life of Saul. How all this must have spoken to the proud king, and brought the blush of shame to his cheek! David also touchingly calls him his "father." Perhaps that title covers not only his royal position as "sire" — the whole people were looked on as his family — but also the more direct personal bond between them. There could be no room for doubt. David held in his hand the witness that he could have slain Saul — a witness of his own integrity and of Saul's treachery.
Even the charge against Saul is softened. David speaks of the men who whisper against him rather than of the king who listens:
David lays the blame of Saul's pursuit upon others, rather than upon the king himself: "Why do you listen to the words of men who say, 'Behold, David seeks your harm'?" He generously passes over the hatred so well known both to himself and to Saul, and singles out only the cowardly treachery of those who stirred the king up. These were no doubt sharers with him in his wickedness, although of course Saul was not thereby excused.
The piece of robe is not a trophy. David took it so Saul would later have something to hold and examine.
Still, David cuts off the corner of Saul's robe. This was a token meant to give his enemy proof of the grace that was sparing him. David's heart (not his conscience) reproaches him even for this act. Seen from the outside, he had fallen short of the respect and deference owed to the Lord's anointed. Yet deep down he was full of grace toward his persecutor.
Some writers see in that small cut piece a picture of the whole robe — the royal place David refused to take by force.
But the little bit of the king's robe that David cut off might suggest something to us. It pictures the whole garment being taken from a king who failed to wear it properly — a garment that would fall to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it in kingly dignity and righteousness. But David will wait for the day the robe comes to him. Until then his heart would smite him even for taking the smallest portion of royal privilege.
This restraint was not a one-off. David passed the same test more than once.
David would have served Saul to the end — he honoured him as "the Lord's anointed." If the moving of his finger would have set him on the throne, he would not have taken advantage of it. The clearest proof is this: he twice saved Saul's life, when it looked as if the Lord had handed Saul over to him. David waited simply upon God. Here was his strength and what raised him — his complete dependence.
David wants Saul to see two things at once: that David has done him no wrong, and that David handed back the life he could have taken.
The corner of this cut robe serves to clear the character of the servant Saul was misjudging, and to open Saul's eyes to his own state. So God often calls sinners through circumstances where His grace has preserved them. He shows them that their state deserved judgment. Yet if a man hardens his heart after this, he must know that judgment will not be delayed.
Holding proof of his innocence, David still does not press his own claim. He leaves the matter with the Lord, and commentators hear in this the same spirit later voiced in the Psalms.
Here we catch a glimpse of the grace that marked the whole life of our Lord without a break. Circumstances that seemed to bring David into the greatest danger in reality put Saul into David's power. But he will not avenge himself; instead he appeals to the Lord. The Psalmist speaks the same way. There we see the Spirit of Christ, of Him who would not save Himself but left everything with God: "Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me" (Ps. 35).
Commentators find the same restraint in Christ, when Peter, one of His disciples, drew a sword to defend Him.
But how easy it would have been to plunge his sword into Saul's heart! No such thought, however, is in his mind. Peter, like David's men, might draw the sword and cut off — not a bit of the robe, but the ear — only to have his holy Master refuse any part in the act. He touches the ear, and heals it. It is sweet to see the mind of the Master in the heart of the man who pictures Him.
- Grace spares. The cave put Saul at David's mercy, and David used the moment to spare rather than to strike.
- Grace proves. David kept the cut corner as evidence — proof that the man Saul hunted had held his life and given it back.
- Grace warns. God often calls people through the very escape that spared them. It shows them that their state deserved judgment.
- Grace waits. David would not seize the robe by force. His heart smote him for touching even a corner of it.
- Grace appeals. David was innocent and still hunted, yet he left the verdict to God. That is the spirit later heard in the Psalms and in Christ.
Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
David has just come out of the cave holding a piece of Saul's robe — proof that he could have killed the king and did not. Instead of settling the matter himself, he hands the whole dispute to God — which raises the chapter's hardest question: what do you do when your enemy is in your power?
One writer traces the power David showed that day back to its source:
In all this David also shows us the source of the spiritual power he displays. What stands out in his words is complete assurance. Everything is absolutely subject to the One he has committed himself to entirely. God will act for him in His own time and way, and David will not run ahead of what God does.
Two common arguments for striking back were open to David. He refused both:
If provocation could have justified killing Saul, David had received provocation enough. If circumstances arranged by God had been a safe guide, then David's time for revenge had come when Saul walked into the cave alone. His men saw it that way, and they urged him to seize the chance.
David does not drop the charge. He moves it to a higher court and leaves the sentence to God:
He now takes higher ground, and appeals his whole case to the Lord to judge between them. He goes further, and speaks of the solemn time of vengeance that must fall if Saul keeps on in his course. But David leaves it all in God's hands. This shows that word in action: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping burning coals on his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
That trust has a quiet enemy, and one writer names it:
Knowing God as the avenger of His people's wrongs is not meant to stir up in our hearts the smallest desire that His vengeance should overtake our enemies. We must watch against this secret desire. We easily count on God's vengeance falling on those who have hurt us, and such expectations sit close to the hope that it may come.
David backs his refusal with an old saying about where wickedness comes from, and leaves Saul to apply it.
He also quotes a proverb. It may have been well known not only to himself but to Saul, who could make his own application: "Out of the wicked comes wickedness, but my hand shall not be against you." Saul would find it hard to escape the thought that he was the wicked one. Nothing but wickedness had come from him so far. David also assures him that the kindness already shown will last as long as the persecution does.
Another writer notes how small David is in his own eyes, and what God makes of people like that:
A lovely feature of the man of God's character comes out here. In his own eyes he is less than Saul, less than nothing: "After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog, after a single flea." … But those who are nothing in their own eyes are something in God's eyes, and this exalts and glorifies Him. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
One writer puts David's answer next to how the Lord Jesus answered those who insulted Him:
Again, when pleading with Saul: "May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you" — "may the LORD deliver me out of your hand." So it was with the Lord Jesus: "When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed His cause to Him who judges righteously."
Sparing Saul was mercy, but it carried a warning. Rossier draws out what Saul was meant to hear:
God often calls sinners through circumstances where His grace has spared them. He makes them see that their state deserved judgment. Even so, if someone hardens his heart after this, he must know that judgment will not wait.
- Commit — David hands his case to God and refuses to run ahead of what God will do.
- Commit, not calculate — the wrongs were real and the chance looked God-given; neither one made revenge right.
- Commit, not cherish — a secret hope that God will pay your enemy back spoils the whole thing.
- Commit and stay small — the man who called himself a dead dog was the man God would plead for.
- Commit like Christ — He did not insult back, but committed His cause to God, who judges righteously. And mercy met with a hard heart does not put judgment off.
As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
David is hiding in a cave when Saul walks in alone. David does not strike. He cuts off a piece of the king's robe, then calls after him from a safe distance. Into that speech he drops an old saying, and its force depends on who Saul decides the "wicked" man is.
David does not invent an argument. He quotes a saying older than both of them, and leaves the applying to Saul.
He also quotes a proverb. It was perhaps well known to himself and to Saul too, who could make his own application: "Out of the wicked comes wickedness. But my hand shall not be against you." It would be hard indeed for Saul to escape the thought that he was the wicked one from whom nothing but wickedness had so far come.
The proverb cuts both ways. David keeps his own conduct clear of it.
He quotes an ancient proverb to Saul: "Out of the wicked comes wickedness." David would not stoop to wicked practices. But he does not say where Saul fits when this proverb is applied!
David's hand will not move against Saul. Refusing to strike is not the same as doing nothing.
He now takes higher ground. He appeals his whole case to the Lord, asking Him to judge between them. He goes further, and speaks of the solemn time of vengeance that must fall if Saul keeps on this course. But David leaves it all in God's hands. He illustrates that word: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping burning coals on his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
The promise covers more than this one day in the cave.
David also gives him the assurance that the generosity already shown will continue as long as the persecution lasts. He had put his case into the hands of a higher power, and he himself would stay clear of Saul's blood.
Saul walked out of that cave alive. Grace like that has a purpose.
So God often calls sinners through the very circumstances where His grace has preserved them. He draws their attention to one thing: their state deserved judgment. Still, if someone hardens his heart after that, he must know God will not delay judgment.
The proverb is about sources. What a person does comes out of what a person is. One writer applies this to religious washing that leaves the inside untouched.
How pointless it was for the Pharisees to argue for the ceremonial washing of the hands and the body! They forgot the inward defilement that is moral. It comes from the heart, and water cannot wash it away… According to the "proverb of the ancients," quoted by David to Saul, "Out of the wicked comes wickedness" (1 Samuel 24:13).
David's refusal is more than good manners under pressure. Writers read it as an early sketch of how Jesus answered His enemies.
David had led a miserable, sorrowful life because of Saul. Yet when Abishai says, "God has given your enemy into your hand this day," he answers, "The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD's anointed." He speaks the same way when pleading with Saul: "May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you" — "may the LORD deliver me out of your hand." So it was with the Lord Jesus: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly."
Saul weeps and admits David is the more righteous man. The story does not treat that as the end of the danger.
Saul sees that God has spared him by a miracle. So he acknowledges (but for how long?) the grace and righteousness that are in David… A heart that stands condemned — and this is very serious to consider — can be softened in the presence of grace and still not be changed. God does not ask us for feelings, however righteous they may be. Faith is what counts, for faith alone can make a sinner new and save him.
- Source. The proverb tells us where evil comes from. It comes out of a person because it is already inside. That is why outward washing cannot clean a defiled heart.
- Silence. David names the rule but never names the man. He leaves Saul to make the application himself, and that is what makes it impossible to escape.
- Surrender. Refusing to strike is not weakness; it is handing the case over — "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
- Sign. God calls a sinner through the very circumstances where grace spared him. But if that sinner hardens his heart, judgment will not wait long.
- Shadow. David points forward to Christ. When people insulted Him, He did not insult back. He kept entrusting Himself to the God who judges justly. Saul's tears show the reverse: grace can soften a heart without changing it.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a single flea.
David has just spared Saul's life in a cave, and now calls out to the king from a safe distance. His question — whom is the king of Israel chasing? — turns the hunt into something absurd and leaves Saul staring at the smallness of his own target.
To feel the sting in David's words, you need to know what a dog meant to his hearers.
Scripture speaks of the dog again and again as an unclean and debased animal, and so it compares the unclean nations outside Israel to dogs. Hazael, who was not an Israelite, said, "Is your servant a dog?" The most offensive name you could call a man was a dead dog. Dogs were, and still are, the scavengers of Eastern cities.
David does not only make himself small. He sets that smallness beside the war Saul should have been fighting.
Here is the king of Israel, the commander of the armies of the Lord, the anointed of God to lead His people bravely against their enemies. And here were the Philistines, always threatening the freedom of the Lord's people and their hold on their inheritance, with other enemies ready to press in on every side. Yet he pours all his energy onto one man who, humanly speaking, is as insignificant as a dead dog or a flea. How contemptible, and almost laughable, it all was! It was fit to stir any last embers of self-respect left among the ashes of Saul's cold heart.
David's words about himself are worth weighing on their own. Where does a man stand with God when he thinks this little of himself?
A lovely feature of the character of the man of God comes out here. In his own eyes he is less than Saul, less than nothing... In the same vein Paul says of his dear Corinthians: "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not" (1 Cor. 1:28), and of himself: "Neither he who plants is anything" (1 Cor. 3:7). But those who are nothing in their own eyes are something in God's eyes, and this lifts Him up and glorifies Him... "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The love of God for us — that is what glorifies Him!
David refused to strike, so he had only one way left to clear his name. One writer sees the same choice later in Christ.
Saul had made David's life miserable and sorrowful. But when Abishai says, "God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day," David answers, "The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed." Again, when pleading with Saul: "The Lord judge between me and you, and the Lord avenge me on you, but my hand shall not be against you" — "the Lord deliver me out of your hand." So it was with the Lord Jesus: "When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed His cause to Him who judges righteously."
Years later, Saul's crippled grandson Mephibosheth stood before King David and used this same phrase about himself.
In David's presence he calls himself a dog — unclean and despicable, the very picture of defilement; a dead dog, a foul thing fit only to be kicked aside. Speaking this way to David, he took the place David had once taken towards Saul, Mephibosheth's own forebear — as others might well have known. David had said to Saul: "After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog?" The powerful king before whom Mephibosheth stood had once taken that same place. He had come to know what defilement, death and rejection meant during the days of his sufferings. It was with such a saviour that Mephibosheth had to do.
One writer turns David's two names for himself into a prayer for anyone who serves God.
The devil works on our poor foolish hearts like this. Our thoughts circle around ourselves. We so often make our very service, and the truth of God, a pedestal on which to display our own glory. No wonder, then, that we are not much used. How could the Lord use servants who will not give Him the glory?... Let us then pray that God would make us more truly humble, more self-abased, more willing to be seen as "a dead dog, or a flea," or "the refuse of all things," or nothing at all, for the name of our gracious Master.
- Nothing — "Dead dog" was the harshest insult in the language, and a flea the least thing worth chasing. David chose both names for himself, in front of the man hunting him.
- Nothing, and so exposed — a king who leaves the Philistines threatening his people in order to hunt a flea looks contemptible, almost laughable. David says so to his face.
- Nothing, and so free — those who are nothing in their own eyes are something in God's eyes, and that glorifies Him.
- Nothing, and so safe — David will not defend himself, so he hands the verdict to God. The Lord Jesus did the same when men reviled Him.
- Nothing, and so able to save — the king who once called himself a dead dog later welcomed a man who said the same of himself.
Jehovah therefore shall be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and do me justice [in delivering me] out of thy hand.
Saul is hunting David, and then walks alone into the very cave where David is hiding. David has the king at his mercy — and instead of striking, he hands the whole quarrel over to God to settle.
David's men read the moment as God handing Saul over for revenge. Commentators say the chance was real, but the reading of it was wrong.
God's providence at this moment is handing Saul over, defenseless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to take revenge. But David's spiritual understanding is not fooled. As the rejected king his character is grace, not judgment — it is the same with Christ. And here God's providence gives that grace a fine opportunity to show itself.
Two things argued for killing Saul: how Saul had treated him, and how the moment had fallen out.
If being provoked could have justified killing Saul, David had been provoked enough. If circumstances arranged by God had been a safe guide, then David's hour of revenge had surely come when Saul walked into the cave alone.
Asking God to be judge is the opposite of settling the score yourself. Writers tie David's appeal to the New Testament command not to take revenge.
He now takes higher ground. He appeals his whole case to the Lord to judge between them. He goes further and speaks of the solemn time of vengeance that must fall if Saul keeps on this course. But David leaves it all in God's hands. He shows what that word means: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" He too had been heaping coals of fire on his enemy, and overcoming evil with good.
Leaving the case with God was not giving up. David expected God to act — but in God's own time.
What he says shows his complete confidence. All things are under the control of the One to whom he has given himself entirely. God will act for him in His own time and way, and David will not run ahead of God's acts.
Just before this appeal, David measured himself against the king chasing him. How small he felt and how sure he was of God belong together.
In his own eyes he is less than Saul, less than nothing: "After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a single flea!" … But those who are nothing in their own eyes are something in God's eyes, and this exalts and glorifies Him: "May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand." "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The love of God for us: that is what glorifies Him!
The same appeal turns up in the Psalms. There commentators hear the voice of One who would not save Himself.
But he will not avenge himself. Instead he appeals to the LORD… We see the same in the Psalms, where the Spirit of Christ appears — the Spirit of Him who would not save Himself, but committed everything to God: "Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; fight against those who fight against me" (Ps. 35). The same cry for help and rescue comes again: "Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!" (Ps. 43:1).
Saul called David back with warm words. David still would not put his life in Saul's hands.
He hands his cause over completely to God to judge… David had valued Saul's life highly, yet he would not trust his own life to Saul. The king said, "Return, my son David," but David would not return. Saul's inviting voice had no power to charm David.
- Committed — David hands his whole case to the LORD instead of taking the opening his men urged on him.
- Character — the rejected king acts in grace, not judgment. A real chance to strike became a chance for grace to show itself.
- Confidence — David will not run ahead of God. He trusts God's timing as much as God's verdict.
- Christ — the same words return in Psalms 35 and 43, the cry of One who would not save Himself but committed all to God.
- Caution — trusting God with the verdict is not trusting Saul with your life. David spared the king but would not go home with him.
And as soon as David had ended speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
David has just come out of the cave. He had the king who was hunting him in his power, and he refused to strike. Saul answers with a name, "my son David," and then with tears. That raises the question this chapter forces on every reader: does weeping mean a man has changed?
The voice alone undid Saul, because of everything it carried with it.
Saul seems melted and broken. What memories would that voice awaken! Memories of loyal cheer on the day of Goliath's great power. Memories of gladness and hope when the dark cloud of the evil spirit pressed on his soul. Memories of songs of praise that told of the care of the Great Shepherd for the least of His sheep. That voice had soothed many a weary night! He also recalls the relationship, as David had already done: "Is this your voice, my son David?" And he breaks into tears. Truly gracious tears! Only, something more than sentiment or tender memories is needed to melt the hard heart of pride.
David could have settled the matter himself. He handed it to God instead.
Here is a glimpse of the grace which marked the whole life of our Lord without a break. Circumstances seemed to bring David into the greatest danger. In fact they put Saul in David's power. But he will not avenge himself. Instead he appeals to the Lord: let Him "be judge and judge between you and me, and see and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand." The Psalmist speaks the same way. There we see the Spirit of Christ, of Him who would not save Himself but committed everything to God: "Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me" (Ps. 35).
Saul's confession gives less than it first appears. It promises nothing about his own conduct.
Saul's conscience is seriously affected. He calls David his son, and weeps. His confession to David seems sincere, though it is sad that later events showed it to be all on the surface. He tells David he was more righteous than Saul, but this implied that Saul was righteous, only less so than David. Still, he acknowledges that David had done good to him while he had done evil to David. This shows that a person who is not born of God can still tell good from evil. He can also admit his own wrongs... Yet he makes not the slightest suggestion that he himself would repay good to David!
Grace can move a man and still leave him where it found him.
A heart that God has rejected — and it is very serious to consider this — may be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. God does not ask us for feelings, however right they may be; it is faith that counts, for faith alone is able to regenerate and save a sinner.
The test is not the crying but what the man does next.
Some think they repent when they shed a few tears, as Saul did over his unkindness to David: "And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. And he said to David … you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil" (1 Sam. 24:16-17). But for all this he hunts David again. So men can lift up their voice and weep over sins, and then go back to their sins. Others give up their sin but still keep their love for it in their hearts, like the snake that sheds its skin but keeps its sting.
Kind words from a hostile man do not end the conflict.
It would be good for us to realise that a fair show of friendliness from men of the flesh cannot be taken as a lasting reconciliation. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other. They cannot go on side by side without conflict breaking out again and again. The same is true of those who have openly taken the side of evil and remain in bondage to it... There may be short lulls in the conflict between the ungodly and the children of God. But these lulls show no change in the ungodly.
- Voice. David's voice woke Saul's memories of battle, comfort and songs of praise. The hunter answered the hunted with "my son."
- Grace. What looked like David's worst danger put Saul in his hand. David left the case with the Lord.
- Tears. Saul's tears looked sincere. But calling David the more righteous man kept some righteousness for Saul, and promised David nothing.
- Unchanged. A heart can be softened in the presence of grace without being changed; God asks for faith, not feelings.
- Watchfulness. Tears that go back to the same sin are a lull, not a peace. A friendly moment is no lasting reconciliation.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
Saul hunted David through the wilderness. Then he walked alone into the very cave where David was hiding, and the hunted man spared the hunter. Now the king weeps and calls David the better man. That raises the hardest question in the story: is this repentance, or only feeling?
Saul walked into the cave helpless and walked out alive. David made sure the king knew it.
What God had set up, though rejected by Him, David would not raise a hand to destroy… If provocation could have justified the killing of Saul, David had received provocation enough… Placed in his power, David made Saul aware of the risk he had run. He forced the king to say openly that David had no plan to harm him or kill him.
David's men read the moment as God handing him his revenge. God did arrange the moment — but for the opposite purpose.
God's providence at this moment is delivering Saul, defenseless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand, and conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to take revenge. But David's insight is not fooled. As the rejected king, his character is grace and not judgment (it is the same with Christ). Here God's providence gives grace a fine occasion to show itself.
Saul's confession sounds complete. One writer notices how much the small word "more" still leaves standing.
He tells David he was more righteous than Saul, but this implied that Saul was righteous, only less so than David. Nevertheless he acknowledges that David had done good to him while he had done evil to David. This shows that a person who is not born of God can still recognize what is good as opposed to what is evil, and can also admit his own wrongs… He seems to mean it too when he says he wants the Lord to reward David with good for the good David had done to him. Yet he makes not the slightest suggestion that he himself would reward good to David!
Saul wept. Then he went after David again. That makes this scene a picture of repentance that only reaches the surface.
Many think they repent when it is not the offence, but the penalty that troubles them; not the treason but the executioner's axe. Some think they repent when they shed a few tears, as Saul did for his unkindness to David… But for all this he follows David again. Others give up their sin, but still keep their love for it in their hearts, like the snake that casts off its skin but keeps its sting.
The problem goes deeper than being inconsistent. Grace can move a heart and leave it exactly what it was.
A heart set against God — it is very serious to consider — can soften in the presence of grace and still not change. God does not ask us for feelings, however righteous they may be; it is faith that counts, for faith alone is able to regenerate and save a sinner.
Returning good for evil is not a neutral act. It puts the other person's heart on trial.
Showing kindness to an enemy heaps coals of fire on his head. It becomes a test to him, the way fire tests metal. The kindness will either break him into sorrow and friendship, or harden him even more.
David forgave Saul, and still did not go home with him. The two men walk off in opposite directions, and that detail says everything about the confession.
What a great moral victory for the son of Jesse!… All Saul can do is call down God's blessing on David as a just reward for his mercy, and along with it he admits that David will be king… So they part. Saul returns to his house. David does not return to his, but goes back to those strongholds that had been his shelter so far. This in itself shows that the break between them was not healed. David realized he could never fully trust a man who had betrayed him in the past, and who still refused to bow to God in this whole solemn matter.
- Opportunity. God put Saul helpless in the cave, but the moment belonged to grace, not revenge — the rejected king acts in mercy, as Christ does.
- Evidence. David spared the man who hunted him, and the king had to clear him in public. Mercy did what no argument could.
- Test. Kindness to an enemy works like fire on metal: it either melts him into friendship or hardens him further.
- Tears. Saul wept and confessed, then went after David again. Grief over the consequences is not repentance, and feeling without faith changes nothing.
- Distance. David forgave and still went back to the stronghold. You can pardon an enemy without trusting him.
And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me, forasmuch as when Jehovah had delivered me up into thy hand, thou didst not kill me.
Saul now admits what David had just argued: David had him in his power and let him live. The verse sets a God-given opportunity beside a man who would not use it, and asks what Saul's admission is worth.
David's men read the situation as an obvious sign. One writer weighs what the circumstances proved, and what they did not:
What God had set up, though rejected by Him, David would not raise a hand to destroy — surely a lesson to many since his day. If provocation could have justified the killing of Saul, David had received provocation enough. If providential circumstances had been a safe guide for David, then surely David's moment for revenge came when Saul entered the cave alone. That is how his men viewed the matter, and they urged him to take advantage of his opportunity.
The verse records Saul's own declaration. The same writer shows what David's restraint drew out of the king:
With Saul in his power, David made him aware of the risk he had run. He forced the king to acquit him openly of any plans against his person or his life. Meanwhile David handed his case over to the Lord, to judge between them, to plead his cause, and to deliver him out of Saul's hand. What a victory David gained that day! Saul had to humble himself before David. He had to beg kindness for his own children for the day when David would be king in power, and he made David swear it to him. Saul could trust David's oath. David could not trust Saul.
Saul says the Lord gave him up. For David that changed nothing. What held him back was Saul's title, not Saul's conduct:
Saul was still his master and the Lord's anointed, and nothing would persuade David, either directly or through others, to harm a hair of his head.
The one thing David did take was a piece of cloth — and even that troubled him. Ridout reads the cut-off corner as a picture of the kingdom itself:
The little bit of the king's robe cut off by David might suggest to us the removal of the entire garment from the king who failed to wear it rightly. That garment would fall to David. He would not now take it by force. One day he would wear it with the dignity and righteousness of a king. But David will wait until the robe becomes his. Until then his heart would trouble him even for taking the smallest portion of royal privilege.
If God arranged the meeting, what was it for? One commentator answers that the chance was real, but it was not a chance for revenge:
David's companions in their ignorance conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to avenge himself. But David's spiritual understanding is not fooled. His character as the rejected king is one of grace, not of judgment. It is the same with Christ. Divine providence here offers grace a wonderful occasion to show itself.
Saul's words are accurate as far as they go. Yet his account stops short in a telling way:
He tells David he was more righteous than Saul, but this implied that Saul was righteous, only less so than David. Still, he acknowledges that David had done good to him while he had done evil to David. This shows that someone who is not born of God can still tell good from evil. He can also admit his own wrongs. Yet he makes not the slightest suggestion that he himself would reward David with good!
The feeling behind Saul's words was real. It settled nothing:
A hardened heart — it is very serious to consider — may be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. God does not ask us for feelings, however right they may be. It is faith that counts. Faith alone can regenerate and save a sinner.
The same writer names the point where Saul stopped:
The flesh may have taken a step. It may have admitted a truth. But there is always a point at which the flesh stops: the point where faith alone can act.
- Opportunity. Saul admits the Lord put him in David's hand. But a favourable moment is not a safe guide. If it were, the cave would have settled the matter.
- Restraint. A title held David's hand back, not a mild nature: Saul was still his master and the Lord's anointed.
- Patience. He would not tear off by force the robe God would one day hand him; even cutting its corner troubled his conscience.
- Grace. The rejected king's character is grace, not judgment. Providence handed grace its moment to appear.
- Limit. Saul's tears were real, his confession accurate, his promise missing. Grace can soften a heart that faith never changes.
For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore Jehovah reward thee good for that thou hast done to me this day.
Saul calls out from the mouth of a cave, having just learned that the man he hunted held his life in his hands and let him go. His own question admits that David's mercy was not natural, and it raises what such mercy can, and cannot, do in the heart that receives it.
Saul's own words admit the rule that ordinary people live by. One writer notes the gap between what Saul could see and what he was willing to do.
He knew it was not natural for a man to let his enemy go free when he had him in his power (v. 19). So the grace in David's heart was far above Saul's spirit of revenge. He seems to mean it, too, when he says he wants the Lord to reward David with good for the good David had done to him. Yet he does not hint in the slightest that he himself would repay David with good!
David's men read the moment as God handing over an enemy. David saw it another way, and one writer traces the difference to the kind of king David was.
At this moment God's providence is handing Saul over, defenseless, into David's hands. David's companions do not understand. They conclude that God Himself is giving their master the chance to take revenge, but David sees clearly and is not fooled. As the rejected king his character is grace and not judgment (it is the same with Christ), and here God's providence gives grace a fine chance to show itself.
The cut corner of the robe was evidence Saul could not argue with. What Saul says about enemies is, in effect, his own case going against him.
He could not deny the proofs in front of him, since God Himself had delivered him into David's hands. What a great moral victory for the son of Jesse! Who could deny that when an enemy falls into a man's hands, he takes revenge on him — if revenge is truly in his heart?
David did not use the advantage. He handed the whole case to God, and one writer links this with the Psalms and with Christ.
But he will not take revenge. Instead he appeals to the LORD, asking Him to "be Judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand." The Psalmist speaks the same way, and there we see the Spirit of Christ — of the One who would not save Himself, but left everything with God.
Saul wept, blessed David, and asked God to repay him. One writer weighs how much that moment was worth.
He saw how remarkably his life had been spared. So he admits — but for how long? — the grace and righteousness that are in David… An unrepentant heart, and this is very serious to think about, may be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. God does not ask us for feelings, however right they may be. Faith is what counts, for faith alone can give a sinner new life and save him.
Another writer reads the same scene as a warning about good resolutions.
Satan does not leave his prisoners alone. A little time may pass, and Saul's sense of gratitude and his good resolutions fade away. Then he would be as ready as ever to follow the path Satan was leading him down. His hatred was only smouldering until it flared up into a flame as fierce as before.
What David did to Saul is set out in the New Testament as the believer's ordinary course.
The true Christian may have enemies, even though he lives so as to offend no one. But he must not be the enemy of any man… Instead of taking revenge himself, he bows under the storm and looks to God. He seeks to do real good to his enemy in his need and distress… He does not only hold back from revenge; he shows love… He returns good for evil, kindness for injury, blessing for cursing.
But kindness does not settle the matter by itself. It puts the one who receives it to the test.
Heaping coals of fire on an enemy's head by kindness (Prov. 25:21-22; Rom. 12:20) becomes a test to him, as fire tests metal. The kindness shown to him will either bring him to sorrow for his sin and to friendship, or harden him even more.
- Nature — By Saul's own admission, no one lets an enemy go free when he has him in his power. That rule is the one Saul lived by himself.
- Grace — David did the opposite. As the rejected king, his character was grace and not judgment — and it is the same with Christ.
- Restraint — David did not take revenge. He asked God to judge between them — the spirit found in the Psalms and in the One who would not save Himself.
- Test — Kindness works on an enemy like fire on metal. It either melts him into friendship or hardens him further.
- Result — Saul wept, blessed David, and stayed the same. God does not ask for feelings, however right they seem, but for faith, which alone saves.
And now behold, I know that thou shalt certainly be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand.
David has just spared Saul's life, with the king at his mercy. Cornered by that kindness, Saul says out loud what he had fought for years: the throne belongs to David. The confession is exact, and it changes nothing. What is it worth to know the truth and still refuse it?
Samuel had already told Saul that God had chosen someone else. One writer finds the tragedy in what Saul does next with that knowledge.
Saul makes a most striking confession to David. He knew well that David would certainly be king, and that the kingdom of Israel would be established under his rule. Samuel had told Saul that God had chosen another man to be king, and all the evidence pointed to David. What if Saul had found grace even now to give up his authority willingly into David's hand? The rest of his life would have been so much brighter! But though he knew David would eventually reign, Saul was determined to reign just as long as he could.
The admission does not stand alone. It comes with another one: "You are more righteous than I."
There seems to be an acknowledgment of David's righteousness, and his own sin: "You are more righteous than I." David had rewarded good for his evil. He could not deny the proofs that were before him, when even God Himself had delivered him into the hands of David… Saul can only call down God's blessing in righteous recompense upon David for his mercy, and in that connection acknowledges that he will be king.
Saul felt the force of David's mercy. One writer explains why feeling was not enough.
A heart that God has rejected — this is very serious to think about — may be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. God does not ask us for feelings, however righteous they may be; it is faith that counts, for faith alone is able to regenerate and save a sinner.
Knowing the future did not slow Saul down; he went on hunting David with his eyes wide open. One writer draws out what that costs a man.
Saul owned that there was a glorious future before David, and yet he had been seeking to take away his life. There was a clear conviction in the king's mind of David's increasing greatness, but that conviction had in no way checked his desire to destroy him. So he was fighting with his eyes open about the future waiting for David… Conviction that leads to no change of life, and to no right course of action, must only increase the condemnation of the one who confesses it. After this they parted, and never again, that we know, met on earth. Saul went onward to his end. David waited to ascend the throne.
Saul has now confirmed the crown with his own mouth. Even so, David does not trust him.
David did not return home, but went back to his strongholds. That in itself would show that the breach had not been healed, and that David realized it would be impossible to fully trust one who had shown such treachery in times past, and who still refused to bow to God in the whole solemn matter.
David's steadiness had one root.
David would have served Saul to the end — he honoured him as "the Lord's anointed." If the moving of his finger would have set him on the throne, he would not have taken advantage of it. We have the clearest proof of this. He twice saved Saul's life, when it looked as though the Lord had put Saul in his power. David waited simply upon God. Here was his strength and his lifting up — his complete dependence.
Saul's refusal is not rare. Grant draws the line straight to today.
Many men of the world know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one ruler whom God has ordained to reign eventually, but they will not bow to Him now!
That acknowledgement comes to everyone at last. Another writer says what it will and will not do.
God will yet compel obedience to His Son. He has decreed that to Him every knee shall bow. In the day of His power no tongue will be allowed to speak against Him. Even hell itself will be forced to pay Him respect. But in this there is no salvation. Blessed is the man who today confesses Him as Saviour and Lord.
- Knowing — Saul names the coming kingdom exactly right. Samuel had told him long before. The problem was never information.
- Softening — a heart can be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. God asks for faith, not feelings.
- Refusing — Saul knew David would reign, yet he held on as long as he could. Conviction that leads to no change only increases condemnation.
- Waiting — David would not seize the crown Saul had just granted him in words. He waited on God instead.
- Bowing — every knee will bow to God's King at last. But forced homage brings no salvation. Blessed is the one who confesses Him today.
Swear now therefore to me by Jehovah, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.
David has just spared Saul's life in the cave, and Saul weeps and calls David the better man. So why is the only thing he asks for a sworn promise to protect his own family line?
The oath Saul wants is protection for his descendants and for his name. One writer explains why Saul asked, and why it should have been the other way round.
Saul selfishly asked David to swear to him by the Lord that he would not cut off his family or destroy Saul's name out of Israel. Why did he ask this? Because Saul himself had the desire to cut David off, and he expected that David might have the same attitude. By rights, Saul should have been the one swearing to David that he would not seek his life. But Saul's self-centredness left him blind to the simplest moral principles.
Saul's words here sound like a change of heart. One writer weighs that feeling against the faith that saves.
He sees how amazing his own rescue was, and he admits — but for how long? — the grace and righteousness in David... He even acknowledges that the kingdom belongs to David... A reprobate heart may be softened in the presence of grace without being changed. This is very serious to consider. God does not ask us for feelings, however righteous they may be. Faith is what counts, for faith alone can regenerate and save a sinner.
One writer uses Saul's tears as his example of false repentance.
Many think they repent when it is not the offence that troubles them but the penalty — not the treason, but the executioner's axe. Some think they repent when they shed a few tears, as Saul did for his unkindness to David... But for all this he follows David again. So men can lift up their voice and weep for sins, yet follow their sins again. Others give up their sin but still keep their love for it in their hearts. They are like the snake that sheds its skin but keeps its sting.
The failure is not always a matter of faking it. Another writer names what is missing:
A change that goes no deeper than the ups and downs of human life, or what man calls gratitude, cannot last. It fails when the tempter and a good opportunity come together... and if there were sincerity, sincerity is not power.
David does not bargain. One writer sees pure grace in the oath, and sees Saul walk away from it.
Saul goes so far as to count on David to preserve his seed. David, a beautiful example of grace, "swore to Saul" (v. 22), for grace will not be limited. Will Saul know enough to make use of it? No: "Saul went home."
Saul asks for the promise and gets it. Watch where each man goes next.
David assures Saul of this with an oath. So they part: Saul returns to his house, and David does not go to his, but back again to the strongholds that had been his shelter so far. This alone would show that the break between them had not been healed. David realised he could never fully trust a man who had shown such treachery in the past, and who still refused to bow to God in this whole solemn matter.
Years later David does more than keep the letter of this promise.
How beautiful it is to see David as king, holding the power of life and death! He remembered his oath to Saul (1 Sam. 24:21-22) not to cut off his seed after him. And he went further than the unhappy, unbelieving king's furthest thoughts: he asked (2 Sam. 9) whether any were left of the house of Saul to whom he might show the kindness of God.
Commentators differ over how fully David kept this word. One writer presses the question:
David himself had sworn to Saul that he would not cut off Saul's descendants (1 Samuel 24:21-22). Had he completely forgotten this? He did spare Mephibosheth because of his oath to Jonathan, but was his oath to Saul not just as binding?
- Fear asks. Saul begs protection for his family because he judges David by himself. The man who hunted David expects David to hunt him.
- Feeling answers. His tears are real, but grace can soften a hard heart without changing it. God looks for faith, not feelings.
- Sincerity fails. A change rooted only in gratitude breaks down at the next opportunity. Sincerity is not power.
- Grace gives. David swears without conditions, for grace will not be limited. Saul takes the promise and goes home.
- Grace outruns. In 2 Samuel 9 David goes past the wording of the oath. He looks for Saul's house to show it the kindness of God. Writers differ on how well he kept the oath later.
And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home; and David and his men went up to the stronghold.
The chapter ends quietly. Saul has wept and admitted that David is the more righteous. He has asked for a promise about his family. Then the two men part and go separate ways.
What Saul asks for reveals his own heart. He assumed David would treat his family the way he had treated David.
Selfishly, Saul asked David to swear by the Lord. He wanted a promise that David would not cut off his family or destroy Saul's name out of Israel. Why did he ask this? Because Saul himself had the desire to cut David off, and he expected that David might have the same attitude. By rights it should have been Saul swearing to David that he would not seek his life. But Saul's self-centredness left him blind to the simplest moral principles. Yet David was willing to give his oath to Saul.
David swore. He did not limit the promise to fit what Saul deserved.
Saul goes so far as to count on David to preserve his seed. David, a beautiful example of grace, "swore this to Saul" (v. 22), for grace will not be limited. Will Saul know enough to make use of it? No: "Saul went home." Alas! his godly son Jonathan had done the same thing (1 Sam. 23:18). The flesh may take a step. The flesh may admit a truth. But there is always a point where the flesh stops: the point where faith alone can act.
Saul goes home. David goes up to a hiding place in the rocks. Where each man goes shows the distance still between them.
So they part. Saul returns to his house. David does not return to his, but goes back again to the strongholds which had been his shelter so far. This in itself shows that the breach had not healed. David realised he could never fully trust a man who had shown such treachery in the past, and who still refused to bow to God in this whole solemn matter.
Darby states the outcome plainly:
He sees clearly what the result will be, and gets David to protect his descendants; but David does not return to Saul. The relationship was broken.
Saul wept when they met. David did not treat those tears as proof of a changed heart.
But Saul can weep when he meets David; so did Esau when he met Jacob. There is, however, no trusting these tears. At best they may only show the stony ground, while all the time the heart is not right with God. David could not trust Saul's tears. He turned away from them to his stronghold in the wilderness, and says, "Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul." It was the same with the Son of God. Many believed in Jesus after seeing the miracles He did, but He would not entrust Himself to them (John 2).
Saul's later history shows how little that softened moment was worth.
David gives the pledge Saul asks for. Saul returns home, no doubt thinking he would never again seek David's life. But Satan does not leave his captives alone. A little time may pass. Saul's sense of gratitude and his good resolutions may fade. Then he would be as ready as ever to follow the path Satan was leading him along. His hatred was only smouldering until it was fanned into a flame as fierce as before.
Years later David sat on the throne. The promise he made here still held.
How beautiful it is to see David on the throne, holding the power of life and death. He remembered his oath to Saul (1 Sam. 24:21-22), not to cut off his descendants after him. He also went beyond the unhappy, unbelieving king's furthest thoughts. He asked (2 Sam. 9) whether there was anyone left of the house of Saul to whom he might show the kindness of God.
Commentators differ about how far David kept it. In 2 Samuel 21 David hands over seven of Saul's descendants. Leslie Grant asks whether David "had completely forgotten this." He notes that "he did spare Mephibosheth because of his oath to Jonathan, but was his oath to Saul not just as binding?" (Leslie M. Grant). Rossier reads that same episode another way. He says that "David was not a man to forget his oaths" (H. L. Rossier).
- Grace given. David swore the oath a self-centred man asked for, because grace sets no limit on who may receive it.
- Grace refused. Saul admitted the truth and wept over it. Then he still went home. The flesh always stops just short of the step only faith can take.
- Grace guarded. David went up to the stronghold, not home with Saul. Tears prove nothing, and the breach was not healed.
- Grace vindicated. Saul's gratitude faded and his hatred flared again, proving that David's caution was wisdom, not coldness.
- Grace enlarged. David later held the power of life and death. He kept the promise and went further, seeking out someone from Saul's house to show the kindness of God.