A Clear Shot to Destroy Somebody
[3] Saul came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. [4] And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. [5] And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 1 Samuel 24:3-5 ESV
David is still on the run from Saul, and after a miraculous escape, David is in Saul’s reach once again. David’s men are saying “This is your chance, kill him!” while David respects God to such a degree that he refuses to kill the one that God has chosen to be king ahead of him. Elsewhere David refuses to even speak ill of Saul, not out of his love and respect for Saul, but because of his love and respect for the Lord and the office of King of Israel.
In a terrorist move, David sneaks up to Saul and cuts off the edge of his robe without him knowing about it. As David returns, in the dark, to his men who are hiding, he feels remorse for what he has done.
Why does David feel remorse for cutting part of Saul’s robe, when he had the clear and justifiable chance to kill him?!
In ancient Jewish history, the robe wasn’t just a robe. Like the Ph.D. at a college graduation has the cap and gown with all of the stripes on it, or an Army general has a jacket with all kinds of buttons, pins, ribbons and ropes, so was Saul’s ‘robe.’ To say that David cut the hem off of Saul’s robe is like saying that David cut off Saul’s authority as king.
David knew that the position of the King of Israel was not a light matter. It was not something that men could give or take away. His men wanted him to end the reign of Saul by killing Saul. David ended it by mockery, and then was cut to the heart about it.
It is so easy, when someone is given right into our hands, to destroy their reputation or their authority with someone. It’s uncomfortable but not uncommon for someone to tell you all about how awful their last job was, and the dirtbag they worked for. You don’t have to dig very deep when a new person shows up at church to find out all of the things that were terrible about their last church.
David wouldn’t have had any difficulty in killing Saul. Remember what the songs said: *”Saul killed his thousands, David killed TEN thousands.” * But when delivered right into his hand, David respected God’s will over his own chance to get revenge.
What if on the listening side, we didn’t provoke people to have a chance to slander vengeance on others? What if on the speaking side, we respected people right where God has placed them and didn’t take the easy shot while they are relieving themselves?