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.