Faithfulness Proven by Actively Passing Opportunity By
[11] See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. [12] May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. [13] As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. [14] After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! [15] May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
[16] As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. [17] He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. (ESV)
1 Samuel 24:11–17 ESV Read More
What kind of rock are we talking about, when the Psalms say “God is my rock” or “God is my fortress?”
Even for ancient standards, David lived pretty rugged. As a shepherd, he would be outside most of the day, and spend some parts of the year outside all night as well. When he was on the run from Saul, he and his 400 some odd ruffians camped out in the wilderness and in caves. These caves weren’t Western Kentucky caves that you’d tour and see blind fish and stalactites. They were dry, desert caves that would be warm but still have their share of wild animals.
Engedi, where David was hiding out one of the times that Saul came after him, covered miles and miles of 400 foot tall cliffs, narrow ravines, and hundreds of caves. (Many have yet to be explored to this day! Cue the action movie writers!) If you weren’t killed by the wild animals, snakes, scorpions, etc., you would risk falling from a cliff, having a rock land on your head, or dehydration or heat exhaustion. It was rough. Around 1884 this woodcut was made of the area:
“The cliffs of Engedi. They form an very difficult pass, and the zigzag paths are not kept in repair. The surface of the limestone rock is of marble-like smoothness, and a pale reddish tint is the prevailing color.”
After a later event like this with Saul, it says that David “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul.” After all of that, David feels certain that he will fall at Saul’s hand. When struggling to grasp the conflict of being anointed king, but running for his life, he found refuge in the Lord.
Moments like this, in this cave where he can stab Saul to death and claim the kingdom, is where David would most remember that God is his deliverer and not himself. He knew that God was the one that lifted up the lowly and brought down the proud. David didn’t have to sin and have the anointed one of God’s blood on his hands, he just had to be actively surrendered to the God of the Anointing.
When David considered the rock fortress all around him, protecting him from Saul, that rock would go on for miles. Out of hundreds of tunnels that Saul could attack, he instead walked defenseless right into David’s hands.
God is proving Himself as the deliverer, and David is proving himself as faithful. David’s faithfulness built up the faith of all of David’s men and his enemies. It was something that no one could fight against with weapons or with their words. It sent Saul back home in remorse and with another chance to consider his own lack of faithfulness to God, with a chance at repentance.
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