1 Samuel 24

A view of Wadi David at En Gedi, Israel

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…”
1 Samuel 24:4-6

Times of crisis reveal one’s true character.

This was a moment of temptation for David. As his men said, it seemed to be a divinely-given opportunity to put an end to all this running and hiding – an opportunity to place himself on the throne without further effort and without further delay. Yet, he was unable to do the deed. He only cut off a piece of Saul’s robe instead of cutting off Saul’s life. Why?
To someone who was only concerned for their own self-advancement, it would have seemed that God had providentially put everything in place: Saul was helpless and unaware; David’s men were urging him to kill him and David had the upper hand. Even if something had gone wrong, En Gedi provided many options for escape. Had he been Saul, David would have struck without a second thought.
But that’s just the point: David wasn’t Saul. In fact, God was in the process of “beating the Saul” out of David in order to prepare him to rule in a godly fashion. As the focus of Saul’s murderous intent, David had plenty of opportunity to observe the disastrous results – on the king, on his staff and on Israel – of Saul’s manic selfishness. David’s experience as a fugitive reinforced his commitment to do things God’s way. And that’s indicative of true godly character.
When we don’t really have time to think, we react out of our true nature. This situation demonstrated David to be a man of integrity. Forced to make a split-second decision under tremendous pressure, David reacted in a godly fashion. Though he was a warrior, he did not kill. Given time to think, David manifested further proof of his integrity in that his conscience was troubled by the fact that he had even touched Saul’s robe.
David was unwilling to use any means in the accomplishment of God’s will that was dishonoring to God. God had obviously placed Saul in the position of king. David acknowledged that fact by his frequent references to Saul as “God’s anointed.” God had also promised that David would succeed Saul as king. To deny either of these truths would have been tantamount to denying his faith in God. Furthermore, David was determined to embrace not only God’s promise but also to the means by which God would fulfill His promise. Surely, God had already planned some resolution to this conflict which would bring Him glory. To hasten the fulfillment by taking Saul’s life seemed to be a tawdry – and faithless – way to gain the throne.
In his whole circumstance, David demonstrated a remarkable spiritual maturity for one so young. His willingness to deny himself in submission to God’s will clearly foreshadowed the response of our Savior. Jesus also followed the Father’s timetable, eschewing easier paths to His throne, out of submission to God’s will. (See Matt. 4:8 and John 6:15. Compare with Matt. 26:39.)
David subsequently rebuked the king, while demonstrating that he could have easily taken Saul’s life. Instead, David expressed his continuing faith in God: “May the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.” Ever the manipulator, Saul acknowledged David’s integrity. He even prophesied that David would succeed him as king. (The author here uses Saul’s own words to buttress the legitimacy of David’s reign.) But Saul immediately tried to tie David’s hands by asking him to swear he would not harm his family. Ironically, an ungodly man can recognize integrity, but will often seek to use it for his own ends.
Even in this, David’s integrity shone through. Although it was common practice among the nations for a new king to wipe out the family of the former king – thereby removing all potential claimants to the throne – David trusted that God would make his throne secure. Without hesitation, he swore to Saul that he would “not cut off his descendants or wipe out his name from his father’s house.” David kept that promise by his kindness to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth.
Trusting God and acting upon that trust is the essence of Biblical integrity. May God strengthen your faith and make you a David, not a Saul.