Thursday October 11, 2018

 

According to a study done by the Pew research center the vast majority of people living in the United States, 92% say that they believe in God and 63% say that they believe in God with absolute certainty. What about you? The problem is that for most believers there’s a disconnect between what they believe and the way they live out their faith.

 

David, was anointed at a young age to replace Saul as the King of Israel. There was one problem however, Saul wanted to remain King. Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s best friend, warned David of his father’s plan to kill him in order to prevent him from ascending to the throne. David, upon hearing this, fled with a group of men that both loved him and were dedicated to giving up their lives to protect him. When Saul finds out that David is on the run, he gathered three thousand men and set out to pursue him.

 

One day, Saul and his army, came upon a mountainous region in pursuit of David. Saul needing to relieve himself, entered a cave, laid down his sword, took off his clothes and laid them aside, and proceeded to relieve himself. Guess who was also inside that cave? David and his men.

 

The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.  Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. 1 Samuel 24:1-22 NIV  Key Verses 4-7  

 

David chose to ignore the advice of his men although circumstances seemed to indicate that God had delivered Saul to that cave and into their hands. What was it that David saw that his men failed to see?

 

David was a man who believed in God. Moreover, although David was anointed to become king he understood that Saul was still the acting King and God was the ultimate King above both of them. David came to his decision based upon the following two principles:

 

1- God’s Law

Under God’s law it was illegal to kill someone who was anointed by God. In essence, David was saying that although the circumstances were favorable to take Saul out, he would not interpret this to mean it was ok to break God’s law.

2- God’s Wisdom

David did not want to be remembered for having become King by killing God’s anointed while he was relieving himself. David understood that if God called him to become King, He was the only one who could remove Saul from his position.

 

To walk in David’s shoes is to base your decisions on God’s law and wisdom. If everyone would act this way, the world would be an entirely different place.