author: Ryan Hayden

Introduction

Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Samuel 24. 1 Samuel 24. As you are turning there I want to tell you a story.

The year was 1980. It was a big year for sports. Amazingly, the U.S. Team beat the Russians in Olympic Hockey - something still referred to as "the miracle on ice."

In basketball it was the year that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird burst into the NBA. With magic leading the Lakers to the NBA championship as a rookie.

Jack Nicklaus - the bear - won his fourth U.S. Open as a 40 year old - solidifying his reputation as one of the greatest golfers to ever live.

But the sport story I want to talk about tonight wasn't in hockey, or basketball or golf - it was in running.

During the Boston Marathon - probably the biggest race in distance running, there was a surprising story: an unheard of runner named Rosie Ruiz won the woman's event.

This was a big surprise, because prior to 1980, no one had ever heard of Rosie Ruiz. Her qualifying time wasn't that fast either. But when the cameras were on and everyone was seeing who would finish first, a strong and remarkably unfazed Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line.

If were alive then then you might remember this isn't the end of the story. You see, the reason Ruiz "won" the Boston Marathon in 1980 is because she took a huge shortcut. She jumped out of the race, got on a subway, and then re-entered the race near the finish line and took the victory.

Of course, she cheated, and when this was found out her victory was stripped from her and given to the real first place woman's winner, a girl named Jacqueline Gareau.

Story

Tonight in our story, David was faced with a similar temptation to Rosie Ruiz. The temptation to take a shortcut. Unlike Ruiz, almost no one would have said that David was cheating, but He still would have been wrong before God.

Let's look at the story. Let's start by reading the first few verses:

[1] And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. [2] Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. [3] And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 1 Samuel 24:1-3 (KJV)

David, if you remember, is on the run for his life from Saul. He's a fugitive. Saul wants nothing more than to take his life and kill him. Saul is obsessed with it.

David has gathered a band of soldiers to him, and he is hiding out, Robin Hood style, in the wilderness.

Well, in chapter 24, Saul learns where David is hiding and leads a team of 3,000 of his best soldiers on a mission to kill him.

They are in this place called Engedi, this beautiful oasis on near the dead sea where there are many caves. It's a big game of cat and mouse as Saul's guys are trying to find David and his guys.

Well, at some point, Saul has to go to the bathroom. That's what "cover his feet" means in the King James. It's a euphemism for taking care of one's business. Saul ducks into one of these caves to do his business in privacy and he must have also taken a little nap in there.

The thing is, Saul doesn't realize that hiding out in that very cave is David and his loyal band of soldiers.

What an opportunity! Saul is right there. He's served up to David on a platter. David can kill him (or at least capture him) and be king.

And that's what his men wanted him to do. Look at verse 4:

[4] And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 1 Samuel 24:4 (KJV)

David's men look at this and they see a golden opportunity. They even tell David - this is the day we've been talking about - God did this for you. God has delivered Saul. You can do whatever you want.

And so David creeps up on Saul and starts to cut off Saul's robe.

Now, why the robe? Well, remember, the robe symbolized Saul's kingdom. Remember when Jonathan gave David his robe - that was symbolic of being the king. David was symbolically going to take Saul's kingdom here, and likely do something else to Saul when he woke up.

But David couldn't do it. Look at the next verses:

[5] And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. [6] And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. [7] So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 1 Samuel 24:5-7 (KJV)

David has this fit of conscience. He can't TAKE Saul's kingdom. Saul is still God's anointed. He is still the king. That still counts for something in David's heart.

So David "stayed his servants with these words." That's an interesting phrase. The word "stayed" is actually "cleaved" or "torn in two." The idea is that David tore up his servants with his words. In modern vernacular we would say "David ripped into them."

He keeps his men from hurting Saul and then let's Saul get up and go out of the cave. (Saul seems to be oblivious to how close he just came to the end of his life.)

Let's keep reading. Verses 8-15.

[8] David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. [9] And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? [10] Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed. [11] Moreover, my father, see, yea, 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 thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. [12] The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. [13] As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. [14] After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. [15] The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand. 1 Samuel 24:8-15 (KJV)

So as Saul is walking out of this cave, oblivious, he hears a familiar voice that had to put ice in his veins.

"My Lord the king."

I imagine Saul stopped dead in his tracks. David! He turns slowly around and sees David on the ground, making obeisance to him.

Then David says "You have been listening to the wrong people. People who tell you I am out to hurt you."

Now, I don't think David thought Saul was getting that advice, I think David was giving Saul an out that saved Saul's ego.

David went on and said "I cut off a part of your robe today, that's how close I got, and people were bidding me to kill you - but I refused because I will not hurt the Lord's anointed. I have your skirt piece right here, and it is proof that I mean you no harm - but you are hunting my soul to kill me."

Then David said two things that I think are the key to this whole thing. They really show David's heart - we are going to come back to them later.

First, he said "The Lord avenge me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee." David was acknowledging that he wanted God to do something to Saul, but he wouldn't lift a finger.

Second, he said Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked. We'll come back to that in a minute.

Let's read the rest of this chapter and then we'll come back. (starting in verse 16)

[16] And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. [17] And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. [18] And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. [19] For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. [20] And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. [21] Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. [22] And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold. 1 Samuel 24:16-22 (KJV)

Now, I don't want to focus too much on what Saul says here. Saul seems genuinely impressed by David's actions. After all, David did just generously save his life. But Saul is going to go right back to hunting David in chapter 26. So if Saul meant it, it didn't last.

Saul goes away, David and his men are still on the run. And the story goes on.

Application

Now, what are the lessons from this story? What are we supposed to learn from it?

I want to give you 3 points of application I think God wants us to learn from this story:

I think, what we see in this story is the wisdom of David. It was wisdom that came right out of his walk with the Lord. There is so much to learn here.

God wants us, as His servants to be wise. We will, like David, face some tricky situations. We need wisdom to get through.

Wisdom is the ability to see life from God's perspective, and to make choices that align with His will and purpose.

So there are two parts to that:

• First, having a right view of God and the world.
• Second, letting that view inform your choices.

The three lessons we learn from this story all have to do with the application of spiritual wisdom to life.

The first lesson of applied wisdom I want you to see here is...

1. God's servants have to be wise enough not to take shortcuts.

David was presented here with quite the temptation. Consider this: he's running for his life. He's a fugitive who has done no wrong. A man he is loyal to is losing his mind and trying to kill him. He has been told by God that he would be the next king.

And by no maneuvering of his own, Saul just walks right into a trap. He's right there, like served up on a platter. And David had the opportunity almost no one in his situation could imagine getting - to take what God had promised him.

His men see this is a God-given opportunity. They are spiritualizing this big time.

And David is about to do it, but it doesn't feel right. His conscience bothers him. The kingdom has been promised him by God - but that doesn't mean that David is to take it. God is going to give it. It's not for David to make that happen.

What David was faced with here is a temptation to cheat. A temptation to take a short cut. A temptation to get out of a bad situation. To throw off the burdens he is dealing with and move up to the next level.

This is a common temptation for God's people. It is one of the temptations that the devil used against Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness. God wants the world to worship you, so just do this and the world will worship you. Just take the shortcut. Avoid the pain. But that is not how God's will works.

Listen, so, so many of our problems in life come because we are dealing with some struggle and we try to take the shortcut:

• maybe you are sick of singleness - so you rush off to get married.
• maybe you are sick of poverty - so you spike a credit card debt or do some work that you shouldn't do.
• maybe you know God wants you to be a pastor - but you want to skip the hard preparation stuff and just jump right in when in your heart you know you aren't ready.
• maybe you know there is some personality conflict you have to deal with - but instead you just avoid the person all together, hoping it will just disappear.
• maybe you know you need to get more disciplined and healthy - but instead of doing the hard work of diet and exercise, you look for some miracle pill or blame your problems on doctors.

In the Christian life, there is no end to hucksters who will try to sell you some shortcut. "Want to experience a great Christian life? Well what you really need is this prayer. What you really need is this worship experience. What you really need is this gift of the spirit."

No, you have to keep walking with God. You have to stay on the pilgrim road. This isn't candy land. God isn't going to let you step on a lollipop and just end up in some glorified state. You have to stay in the race. You have to keep fighting the fight. You have to keep in the pilgrim journey.

So the wise Christian has to realize the folly of spiritual short-cuts. They do not come from the Lord. They are a temptation to escape the journey God has put you on and no matter how spiritual they seem (you can almost always clothe them in spiritual language) they are a life-lie.

1. God's servants have to be wise enough not to take shortcuts.

That's the first lesson I think God wants us to learn from this story, but there are two more. The second lesson is...

2. God's servants have to be wise enough to leave the vengeance to God.

I want you to understand something here: David was a genuine victim of Saul's sinfulness. David lost his job. His marriage. His wealth and his freedom to the raving jealousy of a madman.

And David was right to want to see God deliver him and to take care of Saul. He was right to want that justice, to want God to avenge him.

But David was wise enough to realize this: vengeance is God's work, not his.

In our text, David refuses to lay a hand on Saul. Now, God had promised that He would take care of Saul. Saul deserved it. Saul had it coming. But that coming wasn't going to come from David.

David prayed some pretty tough prayers directed at Saul. In the psalms David prayed that God would break the teeth of his enemies and that they would melt away as waters and be cut in pieces. (Psalm 58 and other psalms)

Make no mistake about it: David wanted God to take care of Saul - but David left that work up to God. David let God be the judge.

When you feel like you have been wronged, it is not wrong to want God to take vengeance on people. It's not wrong to pray a little imprecatory prayer every now and then. But it is wrong - 100% of the time, to take matters into your own hands.

As Paul wrote in Romans 12:

[19] Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19 (KJV)

As forgiven believers, that natural desire for justice needs to be turned over to God and to turn into mercy. We are told to turn the other cheek. We are told to bless them that persecute us.

Listen, that doesn't mean that it's wrong to want to see justice. God is a God of justice. But it means that we have to give that to God and our heart needs to be in forgiveness and mercy mode.

Listen, if someone is wrong - and you are not in the position to fix it - then bring it to the Judge. Bring it to the Lord and trust Him to take care of it.

So...

1. God's servants have to be wise enough not to take shortcuts.
2. God's servants have to be wise enough to leave the vengeance to God.

Let me give you a third lesson and then we'll be done...

3. God's servants have to be wise enough to see that wicked actions don't come out of good motives.

Look at out text again. Look at what David said to Saul in verse 13.

[13] As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 1 Samuel 24:13 (KJV)

What does that proverb mean? I think this is important. "Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked."

David was saying "Saul - If I'm wicked, if I'm in the wrong here, how come I'm acting righteously and you are trying to murder me?"

He's saying "Look at what you are doing. Look at your actions. How can you think you are in the right when you are acting like this?"

You can judge a tree by its fruits. You can judge a well by its water. And you can judge the rightness of a person's cause by how they are acting.

Let me put this in real practical terms for you:

• If you ever find yourself gossiping about someone.
• If you ever find yourself out to destroy someone.
• If you ever find yourself looking for dirt on someone.

Then almost certainly your cause is wrong. That is poison fruit of a poison tree. Bitter waters revealing a bitter well.

Ask yourself - why am I gossiping? What is the underlying motive? Am I trying to build myself up by tearing someone else down? Am I envious? Am I insecure? Do I not trust God to take care of this situation?

Ask yourself - why am I obsessed with getting this person? What has driven me to this point? Have I let anger live in my heart? Revenge? Am I trying to eliminate a perceived threat? Why am I trying to manipulate this situation? Why can't I just trust God to work this out?

I want to close by turning your attention again to the sermon on the mount, where Jesus said this:

[38] Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: [39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. [40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. [41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. [42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Matthew 5:38-42 (KJV)

Let me ask you this:

• Why can a Christian "resist not evil?"
• Why can a Christian let someone sue him?
• Why can a Christian let a soldier abuse him and make him carry his pack a mile?

Here is why - and this is the secret to David's wisdom. Because a Christian has a real God. A Christian can do things God's way because He knows God is going to bring justice and God is going to provide.

And when you live like that - it's night and day from when you are trying to force things to happen. You can place yourself under authority and trust God.

I said at the beginning that wisdom is the ability to see life from God's perspective, and to make choices that align with His will and purpose.

Are you living in wisdom today?

• Are you trying to take shortcuts - or are you trusting in God's directions.
• Are you taking vengeance into your own hands - or are you trusting in God's judgment?
• What do your actions say about your cause?
• What do your actions say about your God?

A lot to think about in this story. Let's stand for our prayer time.