1 Samuel Chapter 26

David does a “do over”.

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1 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had come.

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1. Are these the same Ziphites, the relatives of David who snitched him out in chapter 23?

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Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” 1 Samuel 23:19-20

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Now, once again, we find the Ziphites betraying David to Saul. When the Ziphites come to Saul, he is not in the wilderness of Ziph, threatening the lives of those who would withhold information about David’s whereabouts. He is at home in Gibeah, having given up the pursuit of David, at least for a time. But with the arrival of these helpful informers, Saul is once again prompted to pursue David. These Ziphites, descendants of Caleb and thus of Judah, are fellow-Judahites with David, and yet they betray their future king to a Benjamite like Saul. RD

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2. I thought Saul and David were buddies again? What happened?

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Without the Spirit of God the unregenerate sinner cannot truly change. Today modern psychiatry might categorize Saul as bipolar or schizophrenic, but in reality he had a spiritual problem and issues with demonic influences. The bible is very clear that people can be plagued by demons but in a society which claims there is no God and no spiritual world, medicine must come up with an alternate explanation. This is why everything is classified as a disease rather than sin. Alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual perversion, adultery, kleptomania (stealing), outburst of anger, compulsive lying are all viewed as medical conditions.

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1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What isyour name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Mark 5:1-9 (NKJV)

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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, northe covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9-10 (NASB)

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They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:29-32 (ESV)

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God calls it sin punishable with eternal separation from God.

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3. Is it possible that God is giving all parties concerned an opportunity for a “do over” of previous mistakes?

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God is very patient, just and full of grace. He gives the righteous (His followers) and the unrighteous (the unbelievers) a lifetime of opportunities to repent and change their ways. For the righteous person who changes his ways, God is molding that person to the image of Christ. For the unrighteous, God is building his case against them such that He himself is Glorified in their eventual, totally justified condemnation. When they are brought before Him at the “White Throne Judgment”, the evidence of their rebellion is presented and they have no defense.

God is giving the Ziphites another opportunity to not betray their fellow tribesman David to Saul. God is giving David an opportunity to not disrespect Saul when he gets the chance. Also God is giving Saul an opportunity to not revert back to his evil pursuit of David. David did not do well in Chapter 25 with Nabel, so God is giving David an opportunity to redeem himself and act like “a man after God’s own heart”.

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5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him. 6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then said Abishai to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”

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4. I’m sure God has a lot on his plate, why not just finish off Saul and save God the trouble of having to deal with him?

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Saul has made a major military blunder. He is now in a territory that David is very familiar with. Saul thinks he is safe sleeping out in the open surrounded by all his forces, but David knows every rock and gully for secret maneuvering. Saul even supplied the weapon, his own spear, for his demise. Would it not be possible for David to conclude that God has set up the situation perfectly for David to be used as the instrument of God’s vengeance on Saul?

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Many times we are tested to see if we are going to maintain our integrity and cling to the fundamental principles of our faith. David is supremely confident in the knowledge that God will deal with Saul. In the previous chapter God did away with that fool Nabal and David did not even have to lift a hand. Maybe David is learning. God will deal with this fool Saul as well.

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David forbids Abishai to kill Saul for essentially the same reasons he verbalized in the cave in chapter 24. No one can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed without incurring guilt. In verse 10, David goes beyond what he has said before. “As surely as God lives, He will be the one to remove Saul,” David assures Abishai. David does not know how, but after his experience with Nabal and Abigail, he knows that God can accomplish His will in any number of ways. He could strike Saul dead, Saul could die naturally, or he might be killed in battle. These are just some of the ways God could remove Saul, but in each case, it will not be by David’s hand, nor by the hand of any of his men. RD

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9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”10 And David said, “As the Lordlives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 TheLord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. 13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?”Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?”15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”

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5. Is David just spiking the ball now and trying to disrespect and humiliate Saul like he did when he cut off part of his robe?

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Frankly, I think David is being sarcastic with Abner, who is Saul’s captain and should have been protecting him. David is ridiculing Abner. David is telling him that the king could have been destroyed. About this time the king and his men begin to wake up, and they wonder what has happened. Then David says, “Where is Saul’s spear and cruse of water? They are gone.” David probably held them up and said, “Look, I’ve got them. I could have slain Saul, but I did not.” And that is the important thing: David did not slay the king. He had a wonderful attitude about the whole thing. God was going to handle this affair as far as David was concerned. It may be easy for us to criticize David, but do we today let God handle our enemies? We try to take things in our own hands and try to answer our accusers and deal with them ourselves. God says, “Let Me handle the situation, and you walk by faith. Trust Me.” We are going to find out that David trusted the Lord, and He took care of Saul in time JVM.

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17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?”And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.”18 And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lordwho has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.” 21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 The Lordrewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.”So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

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6. So what’s the big deal about this spear, I’m sure there were thousands of spears in the camp.

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Saul had used this very spear to attack David three times. It was, therefore, an instrument of death. It was also the symbol of Saul’s rule, similar to a scepter. Taking the kings spear would be like taking a sea captain’s sword in the days of John Paul Jones or capturing a regimental flag in the Civil War. It was symbolic of victory. CN

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If any doubted one had come this close to Saul, look for the king’s spear and water jug. Imagine the dismay, especially for Abner, when they look at the ground, inches from Saul’s head, and see the hole where the head of the spear has been and the missing water jug, and perhaps a pair of footprints leading to the spear and back. David invites Saul’s security force to send a man up to him to retrieve the missing items. David has the spear, and he has made his point. RD

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David’s reason for entering Saul’s camp was not to kill him but to teach him a lesson. By taking Saul’s spear David would teach the king that he had the power of death but chose to spare Saul’s life rather than take it. This symbolic act also communicated that the right to rule would be David’s eventually. By taking his water jug, a life-giving vessel since life in the Judean wilderness depended on drinking water, David taught him that he had the power to take Saul’s life. CN

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7. What sin against David, even greater than trying to kill him, does David accuse Saul of?

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I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

To force David to flee from the land of Israel was to force him to flee from the place where God dwelt in a special way; it was to force him to leave the place where God had provided for men to worship Him. Thus, to force one to flee from Israel was as much as to say, “Go, serve other gods.”

To the Hebrew and even today the Jew, the land is everything. It is sacred and represents ones relationship with God and their inheritance. To be forced out of the Holy land was to be in effect cut off from the blessings of God and to some extent allowing a person to be in the position of worshiping the false gods of the pagan nation. This was like excommunication to the Roman Catholic. This attitude persists to today and is the basis for much of the trouble with the “so called Palestinians claim to a homeland”. These people are who are nothing but Arab illegal immigrants.

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This is why the dispersion of the Jewish people after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was viewed by the nation as a curse from Yahweh.

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8. So it sounds like Saul has finally learned his lesson?

Saul’s final words are a pronouncement of blessing on David, with the assurance that he will accomplish great things and that, in the end, David will prevail (verse 25). With these words, the two men part company for the last time. They shall not meet again because the time of Saul’s death draws near. Saul returns to his place, but David goes on his way. David knows better than to think Saul’s repentance will last. RD

Although again Saul admitted he was wrong and gave up his pursuit of David, David knew it was only a temporary respite. JVM

David had borne witness twice to Saul’s guilt before God.God proceeded to put him to death not long after this. David became God’s instrument in passing judgment on Saul for his sin and so became a blessing to all Israel. CN

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·        ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary

·        CN …… Constables Notes

·        ESVN………….ESV Study Bible Notes                          

·        Gill………..John Gill Exposition of the Bible                                                        

·        JFB…………..Jamieson  Fausset Brown Commentary

·        JVM ….J Vernon McGee,

·        MH………..Matthew Henry Commentary

·        MSBN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes      

·        NET………Net Bible Study Notes.

·        RD………….Robert Deffinbaugh  bible.org

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