“And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do
this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against
him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’”
1 Samuel 24:6
David was in the recesses of a
cave in the Wilderness of En Gedi. Saul took 3,000 chosen men and went to seek
David. Saul went to attend to his needs in a cave that was by the road. David
was given a word that God was going to deliver his enemy into his hand. He was
also instructed that he could do to him as it seemed good to him by this man.
David saw Saul and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. David told his men “The
Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to
stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” David
restrained his men and wouldn’t let them harm Saul. David left the cave and
then called out to Saul. He told him “Look, this day your eyes have seen that
the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to
kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against
my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the
corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe,
and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in
my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.
Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But
my hand shall not be against you.” David knew that God’s hand of blessing had
left Saul. He knew that he was going to be king of Israel some time in the future. Yet
because God had at one time anointed Saul, David refused to lay a hand on him.
David honored the Lord by sparing Saul’s life. He trusted the Lord to bring his
kingship to pass. He wasn’t about to take matters into his own hand. David wasn’t
going to usurp God’s place in this matter. If Saul needed to be removed as king
to make a way for David, then God would have to do it. Even being urged to kill
Saul, David was not going to strike the Lord’s anointed. We can learn so much
from David. We can leave things in the Lord’s hand. We can trust the Lord to
bring His will to pass in our lives and in the lives of others. We don’t have
to interfere or play God. This means that we don’t have to run ahead of him and
take matters into our own hand. We don’t have to usurp God’s place in the
matter. We should give Him the respect that He deserves. He is Lord. We can
trust Him.
Father, we come to You today and thank You for being our
Lord. Forgive us for all the times we have taken matters into our own hands
instead of waiting on You to bring Your will to pass. Help us to be patient and
to wait for Your hand to move in our lives and the lives of others. May we not
run ahead of You any longer and take matters into our own hand. May we not
usurp Your place of honor. May we give You the respect that You deserve. You
are Lord and we can trust You and your plans for our lives. When You do the
work, when You take care of things, then it is done right. In Jesus’ name we
pray. Amen.
Kimberly Lenz, Care
Ministry Coordinator
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