Read 1 Samuel 24

Overcome Evil With Good

The New Testament gives us many principles by which we should live. Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-21, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

These are wise words and pure principles, but surely no one expects us to actually live by them, do they? There are no examples of these words in action, are there? When one examines the life of David, we see a brilliant example of these inspired commands. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

King Saul is in hot pursuit of his rival, David, the son of Jesse. David and his men run to the Wilderness of En Gedi, on the Rocks of the Wild Goats, hiding out in a cave. Saul enters the cave to relieve himself, not realizing David is in the cave. The men encourage David to claim his victory over Saul, saying, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you’” (1 Samuel 24:4). But David refused to take the king’s life, saying, “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).

Instead, he cut off a piece of Saul’s robe and later confronts him, asking his father-in-law why he set on killing him. He shows Saul the corner of his robe that he had cut off, proving that he had the opportunity to kill the king but refused to take it.

If this is not an example of heaping coals of fire on the head of your enemy through kindness, what is? How did Saul respond? He said, “Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day” (1 Samuel 24:19).

The next time you have the opportunity to do something good for an enemy in this life, take it!

Read 1 Samuel 21:1-9

Situation Ethics

There are certain things that are right and certain things that are wrong. But are those things flexible, depending on the situation? The validity of the concept of “situation ethics” has been hotly debated for centuries. Can we “bend the rules” if it serves a greater purpose?

There are a number of incidents recorded in the Bible to which people turn to justify the idea of situation ethics. One popular example is Rahab the prostitute. She lied, but in that particular situation was it right to do so? Is it ever wrong to tell the truth?

Another example is David when he comes to Nob and asked the priest Ahimelech for bread. The priest answered, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women” (1 Samuel 21:4). David took the bread, even though such was in violation of God’s law. That bread was for the priests: “And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute” (Leviticus 24:9).

Was David justified in his action? Did his situation change the ethics of eating the bread set aside for priests, and priests alone? The Pharisees of the first century evidently thought so, and Jesus challenged them to rethink their position. They had charged His disciples with Sabbath-breaking (when they had not broken any Sabbath laws), but excused David’s actions (though he had clearly violated God’s command).

J.W. McGarvey wrote that “it can not be said that he who refused to turn stones into bread when tortured by a forty days’ fast, and who said, ‘Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven,’ would approve such a violation of law as David was guilty of. Neither can it be that he allowed his own disciples while under the law to break the Sabbath. If Christians may violate law when its observance would involve hardship or suffering, then there is an end of suffering for the name of Christ, and an end even of self-denial” (Commentary on Matthew and Mark, p. 104). Jesus does not excuse David; we must be careful that we do not excuse ourselves of sin. Situation ethics was a faulty concept then and continues to be today.

Read 1 Samuel 18:1-4; 19:1-24; 20:1-42

True Friendship

It was Jonathan, the son of king Saul, who attempted to reconcile the relationship between David and his father, and who on multiple occasions came to David’s defense against his father’s allegations. The Scriptures describe their friendship such that “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:1).

It should come as no surprise that Jonathan was upset by his father’s actions against his friend. Wanting to smooth things over between the two, he had a conversation with Saul and encouraged him, “Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you” (1 Samuel 19:4). In response, the Scriptures state that “Saul swore, ‘As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed’” (1 Samuel 19:6). How trustworthy was Saul’s oath? Had he not been insincere and violated such in the past?

Indeed, Saul’s true colors were shown as his jealousy and paranoia returned. He attempted “to pin David to the wall with the spear” (1 Samuel 19:10), and then “sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning” (1 Samuel 19:11). David escaped with the help of his wife, Saul’s daughter, Michal. David then fled to Ramah to find Samuel and told him all that had occurred. Saul pursued him there; David fled again, and again his true friend Jonathan was there to help.

Saul became terribly angry with his son, calling him the “son of a perverse, rebellious woman,” warning Jonathan that “as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom” (1 Samuel 20:30-31). Saul was determined that David must die.

Despite the knowledge that he would never be king, Jonathan defended his friend. “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” (1 Samuel 20:32). Saul, enraged by his son’s loyalty to David, threw a spear at Jonathan in an attempt to kill him!

Do you have friends that will defend you when you are wrongly accused? Are you the type of friend that will stand up against false allegations against your friends? May we all strive to be friends like Jonathan and David.

Read 1 Samuel 18:1-16

Wisdom or Fear?

God had already told Saul through the prophet Samuel that the kingdom would be taken away from him. After God indicated to Samuel that the next king would be David, “a distressing spirit” came upon Saul. Could it be that Saul became paranoid, always looking over his shoulder, always wondering when he would lose the throne?

The inspired record states, “So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely” (1 Samuel 18:5). Upon one occasion, the women danced and sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul’s reaction was one of anger, and he asked, “Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” (1 Samuel 18:8). He was jealous of David’s popularity and he realized that losing favor in the sight of the people would lead to his downfall more quickly. He kept an eye on David from that time forward, and even threw his spear at him.

1 Samuel 18:12 is very telling: “Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.” God had given up on Saul as the king had disobeyed Him time after time, and Saul knew that God was no longer with him. He could clearly see that the Lord was with David, though, which caused terror in the king’s heart and mind.

David’s behavior was always one of wisdom before the king. David’s behavior troubled Saul because he knew that the Lord would bless David as long as he was faithful and wise. Not only that, but David’s behavior fostered love in the hearts of “all Israel and Judah” (1 Samuel 18:16). There was little Saul could do right in the sight of the people; there was little David could do wrong.

Our reputation is important, as long as it is based on our character and integrity. We should desire people to speak well of us and be honest with their reports. One of the qualifications for the eldership in the church today is that a man “must have a good testimony among those who are outside” (1 Timothy 3:7). And when someone does speak poorly of us, we should let our character speak for itself so that “those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1 Peter 3:16). Let us labor to be wise and faithful, and put away thoughts of paranoia and fear when others do well!