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I Samuel
Chapter
26
1~~And
the Ziphites came {a delegation came}
unto
Saul in Gibeah {in the country of the tribe of Benjamin}, saying,
"Does
not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah
{this is misrepresenting David's actions to gain their own ends -
trying to say David is hostile to Saul which is not true},
which
is before Jeshimon?"
{Note: Ziph is a city of Judea about 4 miles south of Hebron. They have betrayed David once before. They live on a hill where they can view the area around them. Apparently they are very nosey people and also very jealous of their fellow tribesman - David. They desire the approbation of King Saul and will betray anyone if it moves them up the ladder.}
{Misuse
of Regular Army - a Personal Vendetta}
2~~Then
Saul 'made a decision to get up and move' {quwm},
and
went down to the wilderness of Ziph,
having
three thousand chosen men of Israel with him,
to
'seek and destroy' {baqash}
David
in the wilderness of Ziph.
{Note: Once spiritually mature King Saul, has moved into reversionism and has been imposing his own faults upon SuperGrace David. He knows David is God's chosen man to succeed him and he is jealous and antagonistic toward David.}
{Note: RBT says these 3,000 were Saul's 'regular army'. Most other Jews had gone through required military training and were held in reserve. See also I Samuel 13:2 for information on this regular army.}
3~~And
Saul bivouacked in the hill of Hachilah,
which
is before Jeshimon, by the way.
But
David abode in the desert,
and
he saw {reconnaissance patrols reported}
that
Saul came after him into the desert.
{Note: Saul set up camp and should have had sentry posts outside their camp. We will see that since David left the army they have gone to pot and are not ready as they should be.}
4~~David
therefore sent out patrols {ragal - 4 to 8 man patrols},
and
'through evaluation of intelligence reports'
confirmed
that Saul had come.
{Note: They discovered that Saul had no patrols out and had concentrated his troops in one place. Still we have 3000 men against maybe 400 (200 remain with women and children usually). David was informed before he moved. That is the principal here. You MUST KNOW before you DO . . . and this pertains to all things in life - particularly allowing God to work through you!}
5~~And
David 'decided to move out',
and
came to the place where Saul had bivouacked.
And
David reconnoitered the place
where
Saul 'had his command post',
and
was Abner the son of Ner,
the
'chief of staff'/'prince of the army'
and
Saul lay in the 'circle of {supply} wagons' {ma`gal},
and
the army bivouacked round about him.
{Note: Abner is a Benjamite and the uncle of Saul. Abner was a famous soldier and commander in chief of his army. But, he was so confident, Abner did not order to put out sentries.}
6~~Consequently
{as a result of the patrol's report}
answered
David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite
{the leader of one of the patrols - the Hittites had been in the land
before the Jews and now thru intermarrying - now were Jews
themselves},
and
to Abishai
{a future great general of David's army - like Patton in personality}
the
son of Zeruiah {David's step-sister} . . .
the
brother of Joab
{another great general - like MacArthur in personality},
saying,
"Who will go down with me {David}
to
Saul to the bivouacked?"
{pause . . . Ahimelech keeps quiet - apparently afraid and you
never hear of him again - he is through in David's army}
And
Abishai said, "I will go down with you."
{Note: Zeruiah had three sons all of whom became great generals - Abishai, Joab and Asahel. The father is never mentioned. Apparently it is the mother who gave them their great mental attitudes and lead them to be great warriors.}
7~~So
David and Abishai came to the people {their bivouac}
by
night. And, behold, Saul lying down had fallen sleep
within
the circle of the wagons,
and
his spear pressed in the ground at his bolster/head . . .
while
Abner and the troops were lying round about him.
8~~Then
said Abishai {young and eager} to David
{standing over the sleeping Saul},
'Elohiym/Godhead
has 'delivered helpless' {cagar}
your
enemy into your hand this day.
Now
therefore please let me kill him
{nakah - demanding the privilege},
with
the spear even to the earth at once,
and
I will not have to strike him a second time
{a great warrior - one thrust and Saul would be dead - a
professional soldier}.
9~~And
David commanded Abishai, "Do not kill him
{perfect tense - David KNOWS his command will be obeyed - a good
leader commands a good, professional soldier}.
For
who can stretch forth his hand {in combat}
against
the Jehovah/God's anointed, and go unpunished?"
{Note: Saul was appointed king by God. Anyone who takes up violence against him is against God (David has been defending himself, NOT going on the offensive against Saul). And, assassination is NOT authorized by God - ever.}
{David
lists the Three Possibilities for Saul}
10~~David
said furthermore,
"As
Jehovah/God lives,
Jehovah/God
will smite him
{nagaph - administration of sin unto death - like Nabal in previous
chapter};
or
his day shall come to die
{normal death in dying grace for a believer in the Way - honorable
death is possible still for Saul if he rebounds and gets back into
the Way of Righteousness};
or
he shall descend into battle, and perish
{caphah - means to be 'shaved' and is used idiomatically for 'take
away life'}.
11~~'No
Way'/'From this thought or action, Get me far away'
from
Jehovah/God
{idiom: literally: 'far be it' and this is as strong a negative as David
can make}
that
I should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah/God's anointed.
But,
please, you take now the spear that is at his bolster,
and
the cruse of water, and let us go."
12~~So
David took the spear
{David countermanded his own order and thought it better for HIM
not his youthful companion to carry the spear near the sleeping
Saul!}
and
the cruse of water from Saul's bolster
and
they got out of there,
and
no man saw it, nor knew it,
neither
caused to wake up
for
they were all asleep . . .
because
a sound sleep from Jehovah/God
was
fallen upon them
{God made sure they all slept and protected David}.
13~~Then
David passed through
{the bivouac through the mountain pass}
to
the other side
and
took his stand
on
the top of an hill afar off . . .
a
great space being between them
{apparently getting down this hill to the valley
and then the rise to the other side is very difficult so David is safe
here - he can be heard but not reached by Saul's men}.
14~~And
David kept on shouting {to get their attention}
to
the troops, and to Abner the son of Ner
{responsible chief of staff of Saul},
saying,
"Don't you want to answer me, Abner?"
Finally,
Abner answered and said {on his high horse},
"Who
are you . . . you shouting at the king?
{arrogant response - chewing out whoever is waking the king too
early}"
15~~And
David said to Abner,
"Who
are you? Are you not man?
And
who is like to you in Israel? {implying his high rank}
Why
have you not guarded your lord the king?
{David braces the Chief of Staff Publicly for not posting guards}
For
there kept coming {stealth - taking a lot of time}
one
of the people {Abishai} in to destroy the king your lord."
16~~"This
thing {lack of sentries and protection of the king}
is
not good that you have done/manufactured
{'asah - manufactured out of stupidity}
{offended the professional soldier in David}.
As
Jehovah/God lives, you are 'a son of death'
{if court marshaled the penalty David says would be death},
because
you have not guarded over your lord,
Jehovah/God's
anointed.
And
now see where the king's spear is,
and
the cruse of water that was at his bolster
{dawn is now rising and Abner can see what David holds}."
{Note: Abner is so mad he probably cannot even answer because now Saul will answer David.}
{David
stays with the Laws of Establishment and Treats King with Respect}
17~~And
Saul recognized David's voice, and said,
"Is
this your voice, my son {son-in-law} David?"
{Saul always falls back on their relationship when in time of trouble}
And
David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king."
{Note: David razed the chief of staff for his military failures but to the king he shows respect.}
18~~And
he {David} said,
"Why
therefore, does my lord
constantly
'pursue after'/persecute his servant?
For
what have I done/manufactured {'asah - meaning out of evil}?
Or
what evil is in my hand?
{David's
Logical Layout of the Choices - Problem is Saul is in Reversionism}
19~~Now
therefore, please/'I pray you',
let
my lord the king
'hear,
listen and concentrate on' {shama'}
the
words of his servant.
{Possibility One - God lead Saul to chase David - NOT}
"If
Jehovah/God has persuaded you {Saul}
against
me {David},
let
Him {God} accept/'smell the sweet smell of'
the
{rebound} offering {from David}
{means for God to smell his rebound and forgive David}.
{Possibility Two - Evil Men lead Saul to chase David - Yep}
But
if they be 'sons of the human race'
{human viewpoint in reversionism},
being
cursed are they before Jehovah/God
{David's states a fact - all troublemakers are under the discipline of
God}.
Because
they {troublemakers} have driven me out this day
{David has made up his mind to leave the land already - he will in
the next chapter}
from
joining myself to the {spiritual} inheritance of Jehovah/God,
saying
{troublemakers are saying what David should do},
'Go,
serve other gods'
{ostracism from Israel and its spiritual heritage - does imply his
temporary loss of citizenship - goes to the Philistines}."
20~~"Now
therefore,
let
not my blood fall to the earth
away
from the presence of Jehovah/God
{meaning 'do not make me die a fugitive in a foreign land'}.
For
the king of Israel has come out {this and other occasions}
to
seek and destroy {baqash} a single flea
{Saul and 3000 men to kill an insignificant creature
- a little flea - implying David is no enemy to the authority of Saul
and a flea hops from place to place and is difficult to find},
as
when one does hunt a partridge in the mountains
{in this day they literally chased a partridge until it became tired -
then a stalker would come up with a stick and kill the bird - it was
a very strenuous sport}."
21~~Then
said Saul
{from his emotions - sounds good but you can not trust a
reversionist},
"I
have sinned.
Return,
my son {son-in-law} David,
for
I will not cause you any more evil,
because
my soul/life was respected in your eyes this day.
Behold,
I have played the fool,
and
have compounded my 'sin of ignorance' {shagah}
to
the maximum."
22~~And
David answered and said,
"Behold
the king's spear!
And
let one of the young men
pass
through {will take a few hours}
and
take it."
23~~"Jehovah/God
repay {shuwb}
each
man for His righteousness { ts@daqah}
{David is comparing his righteousness to Saul's righteousness
- saying let the Lord judge between us}
and
His 'faithfulness based on doctrine' { 'emuwnah}.
For
Jehovah/God 'gave you as a gift in a helpless condition'
into
my hand today,
but
I refused to stretch forth my hand
against
Jehovah/God's anointed."
24~~"And,
behold,
as
your soul/life was highly valued in my sight this day,
so
may my soul/life be highly valued in the sight of Jehovah/God,
and
may He rescue me from all diversity.
25~~Then
Saul said to David,
"Blessed
be you, my son {son-in-law} David
{only God can bless, Saul can not bless - this is an error of Saul}.
You
shall both do/manufacture {'asah - out of grace}
great
things,
and
you will be able to conquer.
So
David went on his way,
and
Saul returned to his place {in Gibeah}."
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