I
Samuel
Chapter
24
{Verses
1-4: David spares Saul's life}
1~~And
it came to pass,
when
Saul was returned victorious {shuwb}
from
pursuing the Philistines,
that
it was told him, saying,
"Behold,
David is in the desert of Engedi
{'Eyn Gediy - name means 'the spring of the wild goats' - good
shelter and food}."
{Note:
God allowed reversionist King Saul to win. It was not yet time for
Israel to go out under the 5th cycle of discipline. God is protecting
Israel until God promotes David to King.}
2~~Then
Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel
{a flying column of soldiers - 3000 strong - from the men who
distinguished themselves against the Philistines},
and
moved out
to
'seek and destroy'
{baqash
- technical military use of the word - to search and destroy}
David
and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
{Note:
To see what David was thinking, please see Psalms 55: 18-23.}
{Saul
Makes Himself Totally Helpless}
3~~In
transit, he {Saul} came to the sheepfolds
{rock areas - natural areas used for sheep pens}
where
was a cave.
Then
Saul went in to defecate {call of nature}
{Jewish euphemism (a more pleasant way of saying something
offensive - our euphemism is 'to do # 2' - literally 'cover his feet'
see also Judges 3:24}.
Where
David and his men remained {undetected}
against
the inner recesses {y@rekah} of the cave.
{Strong
Temptation to Assassinate King Saul - Men Want David to Kill Him Now}
4~~And
the men of David said unto him
{talking in whispers - giving bad advice},
"Behold,
the day of which the Lord told you about {is now here},
'Behold,
I {God} am the One giving/delivering
your
enemy into your hand,
that
you may do to him as it shall seem good unto you.' "
{David ignores the bad advice - it is wrong to assassinate
even an evil person}
Then
David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly
{Saul did not realize what David did at this time}.
{Note:
David knew that Saul was the anointed King of God at this time and
it was not for him to kill Saul. Saul was in the most vulnerable
position possible (relieving himself) - naked and busy with a normal
function that usually likes privacy. So, Saul had his men stationed
outside the cave, but David and his men were IN the cave already.
David easily could have killed Saul, but instead David cut Saul's
robe to prove how close Saul came to being killed.}
{David
Regrets His Brass Action}
5~~Then
it came to pass afterward,
that
David's conscience/'right lobe'/heart {leb}
reproached/bit/wounded
him
{David violated his own set of norms and standards and guilt pangs
came},
because
he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe.
{David
Expresses His Understanding of Respect for Duly Anointed Authority}
6~~And
he {David} said unto his men,
Far
be it from me because of Jehovah/God
{idiom expressing regret}
that
I should do/manufacture {'asah - from his old sin nature}
this
thing unto my master
{petty act - lack of respect for authority - quick weakness of
David why is David fighting Saul at all? He is not! He is defending
himself and his followers from the unjustified persecution of King
Saul},
the
Jehovah's/God's anointed,
to
'take aggressive destructive action'/
'stretch
forth my hand' {shalach}
against
him, seeing he is the anointed of the Jehovah/God.
{Note:
In the principal, neither David nor his men have the right to touch
the King OR the King's property. So, David was wrong and now
confesses this.}
7~~So
David restrained his men/servants with these words,
and
he did not permit them
to
rise up {quwm} against Saul.
Then,
Saul rose up {quwm - beautifully play on words}
from
the cave,
and
went on his way.
{Note:
If a leader suggests something, followers will often take the action
as authority to take this action to the extreme. So without saying
anything, his men were probably moving to kill King Saul and David
was now commanding them to haul - and explained he was wrong in his action.}
8~~David
also arose {quwm - play on words continues}
afterward,
and went out of the cave,
and
yelled with a loud voice after Saul, saying,
'My
lord the king.'
And
when Saul turned around and looked behind him,
David
'saluted the king'/'bowed his face to the ground',
and
prostrated himself.
{Verses
9-15: David Pleads His Case to King Saul}
9-15~~And
David said to Saul {stood up and spoke to the King},
"Why
do you listen to your men's {lying} words {dabar}, saying,
"Behold,
David 'searches to destroy' you?"' 10~~
Behold,
this day your eyes have seen
{means to learn by observation}
how
that the Lord had given/delivered you today
into
my hand in the cave.
And
some {of his men}
had
counseled/advised me
to
assassinate/'kill with great violence' you.
But
I 'had pity on you and therefore spared you'.
And
I said, "I will not use violence/'put forth my hand'
against
my lord for he is the Lord's anointed." 11~~
Moreover,
my father {used for father-in-law},
see
. . . see the hem of your robe in my hand . . .
for
in that I cut off the hem of your robe,
and
killed you not,
know
you and see again that there is neither evil
nor
transgression in my hand.
And
I have not sinned against you.
Yet
you hunt my soul/life to take it. 12~~
The
Jehovah/God judge between me and you
{David says he is putting the matter in the hands of the Lord},
and
the Jehovah/God execute judgment on you
{because Saul is in the wrong}.
But
my hand shall not be upon you. 13^^
As
said the proverb of the ancients,
'Wickedness
proceeds from the wicked.
But
my hand shall not be upon you.'14^^
After
whom is the king of Israel come out?
After
whom do you pursue?
After
a dead dog, after a flea. 15^^
The
Jehovah/God therefore be judge,
and
judge between me and you,
and
see, and plead my cause,
and
deliver me out of your hand."
16~~And
it came to pass,
when
David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul,
that
Saul said,
{in his superficial sincerity - 'emotional sincerity'
is not a Christian virtue because it is unstable - Saul regrets his
attitude toward David right here}
"Is
this your voice, my son {son-in-law} David?
{David is married to Saul's daughter Michal at this time}
And
Saul lifted up {nasa'} his voice, and wept.
{Verses
17-21: Crying Emotional Response of Saul}
17-21~~And
he {Saul} said to David,
"You
are more righteous than I.
For
you have requited/recompensed me 'good',
whereas
I have requited/recompensed you evil.
{Saul's conclusion is correct because of doctrine in his soul -
but not for the reason Saul thinks - he saw the RESULT of the
doctrine in David's soul, not the reason for his righteousness}18~~
And
you have showed this day
how
that you have dealt well with me.
Forasmuch
as when the Jehovah/God had surrendered me
into
your hand, you have not assassinated me. 19~~
For
if a man discover and take his enemy by surprise,
will
he let him get away safely? {not under human viewpoint}
Therefore,
{may} Jehovah/God reward you good
for
that you have done unto me this day. 20~~
And
now, behold, I know well that you shall surely be king
{this is emotional thinking and not truly from doctrine in his soul},
and
that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.21~~
Now
therefore be making me
a
solemn promise by Jehovah/God,
that
you will not cut off my seed/offspring after me
and
that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house
{many times a new ruler wiped out the entire family of the
previous ruler}."
22~~And
David made the solemn promise to Saul.
And
Saul went home.
But
David and his men ascended
to
the stronghold {protection of the caves of Engedi}.
{Note:
David did not go with Saul. He did not trust the word of Saul at
all. Saul will shortly try to kill David again (in Chapter 26).}
|