There are different ways that a person’s stature is projected:  A person is tall.  A person is physically larger than life – meaning the bulk and hulk of a person.   A person has exceedingly good looks.  The way one walks and carries oneself is another way projecting.   Another way that one projects themselves is the way they walk the talk and live out God’s righteous ways.  It seems that all these phrases and words describe David, physically as well as his character.  Saul, on the other hand, while tall in physical stature was quite short in character.  We see both played out in these two chapters (24 and 26) of I Samuel.

            At this point in the saga of David and Saul – obviously Saul is still king.  But David, although anointed by the prophet Samuel and called by God to be King – well, David is now a fugitive – and still on the run, living in the wilderness.  He travels with a band of guerrillas numbering about 600 men now.  King Saul commands an army of approximately 3000 men, and more, at any given time.   Saul continues to be an insecure and jealous king.  Remember that Saul cannot bear to watch someone who is very much his junior in age and experience be promoted above him.   So David has several categories of stature over and above Saul, which include ability, courage, and popularity among the army as well as people.   David is already the peoples’ king.    It appears that Saul either forgot or never heard the old saying:  Remember that the powers-that-be, will someday be the powers-that-have-been.    So David is forced to become a fugitive in the wilderness of Judea .   David and his band of renegades take refuge among the rocks and caves at Engedi.  Like some of you, I have been to Engedi and the Dead Sea .  It really is the wilderness – a beautiful place – but still a wilderness.  This place has not changed much since David’s time – accept there is a building now that houses a restaurant and changing rooms and showers to rinse off the salt for those who want to swim, or rather float, in the Dead Sea.  On one side of the road that brings in bus loads of people are the fresh water springs and lush green hills.  Further up are the numerous caves in the rocky limestone cliffs – high above the Dead Sea .   Apparently these caves were once used by hundreds of local people for low-cost housing, other caves were used as tombs, and others for storage.  This is a perfect place for some weary fugitives to hide out, rest and still be on the look out for miles around for anyone, especially an enemy, who might be approaching.

            This is precisely where David and his men are hiding on this hot day.  They are way back in the nice cool caves – safe, secure, with plenty of food and water.  Saul has just finished with those pesky but persistent Philistines.  Some tattle tail has let Saul know that David is now in the wilderness of Engedi.  So Saul in his hot pursuit of the hated David ends up at the caves at Engedi. 

            Now if there is anyone who thinks the Bible is some obsolete, high and mighty Book; and that god is not down to earth and just does not “get” the ordinary person – well this passage tells us just how real this Book and God are.   Chapter 25, verse 3 tells us, in the midst of his mad rush for vengeance, Saul must answer the call of nature.  So there he is, the King, crouching in the privacy of the ave, well, taking care of business.   Of all the caves on that mountain side King Saul chooses the very cave in which David and his men are hiding.   Now that’s vulnerable, king or no. 

And it gets better.  The situation is not lost on David’s men.   Remember these men have been trained to fight and to kill.  They are becoming a finely tuned fighting machine.  And they have been away from homes and families for some time.  Their enemy is at his most vulnerable and within reach!  David’s men prod David,  “David, now’s your chance.  This is it.  Timing could not be better.  Then we can all go home and you can be king like you’re supposed to be.  Look, God has put him right here.  Here’s your sword.  Go get him. ” Oh the temptation that tugs at David’s heart, and hand. 

            Now I don’t know about you, but I have a visual, several actually.  King Saul in the opening of the cave, down on his haunches.   Behind him, David doing the military crawl . . . ever so quietly getting closer to Saul.   But wait.  Here is Saul’s kingly robe tossed aside for the moment.  David’s heart does a little quick step.  He takes his sword and even more quietly cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe.  Then David backs into the darkness of the cave.  

            After this, scripture says, “David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak.  David’s “conscience bothers him,” for what he did and no doubt for what he almost did.  Perhaps we need more conscience bothering these days.  David could have just killed Saul and been done with the whole business, gone home and been crowned king.  But he didn’t – he just takes a piece off Saul’s robe instead….no big deal!  Who cares about a robe – so what if it’s uneven now?  The king has more robes.  Right?  But David’s conscience bothers him.

            He says to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’  So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attach Saul.”

            A television documentary a few years ago showed a lot about the behavior of sheep.  One scene was of a packing house where sheep were slaughtered.  The sheep had to walk from their large pen up a narrow ramp and then turn right. In order to get the sheep to move up the ramp, a “Judas goat” was trained to lead the sheep up the ramp to their death.  The goat was placed among the sheep for awhile in their pen, and then walked confidently to the ramp as the nervous sheep watched.  After the goat got about five feet up the ramp, he stopped and confidently looked around at all the nervous sheep, who then began to follow the goat.  Near the top of the ramp the goat turn left, as a gate was opened ONLY for him and then closed.  The sheep, however, continued up the ramp and turned right - right to their death.

David knows sheep.  He took care of them.  He lived with them.  David was not going to follow the prodding of his men.   He refused to act like a sheep.   Sometimes, we might act like sheep.  We should not.  Young people or older, none, need act like sheep whether the “it” is drugs, alcohol or sex, gossip or hurting another, or any other wrong.  We do not need to follow along with the prodding of the crowd when we know it is not the right thing to do.  We must stand firm for the right thing.  David does that and stands his ground for the right way.  He stands his ground, with God’s help, until his men are persuaded.  As believers, in whatever the relationship with others, we are to follow God’s prodding.  We are to look at the person and the relationship through God’s eyes.  That is exactly what David does.  

Saul finishes, gets up, grabs his robe and leaves the cave.   When Saul is a safe distance from the cave, David also gets up and goes out of the cave.  David calls after Saul.  “My lord, the king!”  When Saul turns around he sees David on the ground, not mocking or gloating.  But in respect. 

I understand that in the military that one does not salute the person.  Rather the rank is saluted.   If the person is a major or general, even if drunk, that person is saluted because of the rank.   David salutes, or in this case, bows, to the king.  David then asks Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of those who say, ‘David seeks to do you harm’?  This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in to cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you.  I said, ‘I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’”  

That’s when David dangles the piece of cloth – not in mockery, but in proof of whom Saul should listen to.   David says, “I was this close to you.  I could have killed you.  But I did not.  I have not sinned against you…yet here you are waiting to kill me.”   You see, all along David has always told Saul what was the truth about his loyalty.  He told the one person who mattered the most.  He went directly to Saul.   This is not dangling his righteousness before Saul.   This is David’s integrity.  He says, “Saul, I could have killed you when you were at your most vulnerable. But I did not and here is the proof.  I will let God judge between you and me.”  David knows he is innocent of all charges.  David knows he is blameless before the people, before King Saul and before God.

Amazingly, Saul hears this truth – and understands – even if temporarily.  Saul says to David, “Who else has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away?  So may the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today.”  In the hearing of truth and repenting Saul even, tells  David, “Now I know you shall surely be king – and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.  Good, crisis averted!   But, they do not hug and go down the road arm in arm.  They go their separate ways.  David knows Saul only too well.   And that is played out just two chapters away in I Samuel 26. 

This second encounter has Saul and his men  out in the open.  It is night time.   All the men are sleeping, with Saul in the middle surrounded by his men.  Saul’s closest man of armor, Abner, his personal body guard, sleeps next to Saul.   This is when we see David and one of his men, Abishai, sneak down to Saul’s encampment. 

Even to the last minute David is once again prodded by Abishai.  Abishai says, “If you will not kill Saul then let me do it.”   Abishai promises that it will be only one strike with the spear and Saul will be dead.  Once again David knows in his heart this is not the right action to take.  David stops Abishai from killing Saul.   But (we have to love the humor in the Bible) David does instruct Abishai to take Saul’s spear that is at Saul’s head, and take Saul’s water jar.  And none of Saul’s army awakes. 

Scripture says, David gets “on top of a hill far away, with a great distance between them.”  Then once again David yells out to the army…not directly to Saul this time.  Specifically, David yells out to the army and to Abner, Saul’s body guard.  Once David gets Abner’s attention David taunts him.  This is truly a “Hey big boy…I thought you were the one to protect the king…but you’ve screwed up.  It’s not looking good for you.  ‘You deserve to die because you have not kept watch over the king, the Lord’s anointed.’  You doubt me – look then, where is the king’s spear and water jar that were at his head?  Like I said, Abner, you deserve to die.  You are going down.”

Did you know that when a flock of crows invades a field of corn, the birds customarily station two sentries in a nearby tree to keep watch and to warn the rest of the flock of any danger?   Some years ago two people succeeded in sneaking up on a flock – and scaring them before the crow sentries had given warning.  Naturally, the flock of birds burst into flight – immediately attacked and killed the two sentries – and only then flew off.    Makes ya wonder what happened to dear ol’ Abner.

Again Saul recognizes David’s voice.  David again asks, “Why does by lord pursue his servant?  For what have I done?  What guilt is on my hands?”   David insists that if the Lord is the one pushing Saul to pursue then let it be and David will sacrifice to God on his part.  But if it is humans pushing Saul this way, then David will leave his share of the heritance of Israel right then or be killed by Saul.   Saul once more repents.  Saul also says he will never harm David again.   Whew, another catastrophe averted.  But, David isn’t going to take any chance.  He tells Saul to send one of the young men over to get the spear and water bottle that had been taken.   David knows Saul’s change of heart will not last.  David leaves.  Saul leaves – in different directions.  They part company forever.

            Author and commentator, Eugene Peterson writes about the first scene, back in the cave, and that the possibilities of coarse vulgarity are not missed:    “the king on his ‘throne,’ viewed from the backside, taking a…” – well taking care of business (my change).  “But David, though earthy, wasn’t vulgar.  He turned the scene into an act of generous homage, a sacred moment, a witness to an improbable and incredible reverence for life.”  And I would add, and an incredible reverence to God’s righteous way.

            The second scene:  The Godly thing to be done here does not change.  David still relies on God to guide his ways.  David does not take the easy way out.  David is not even aware at the time that it was God who had intervened and put the deep sleep on Saul and the army.

            In both scenes David could have speared rather than spare Saul’s life.  In this he models his character and leadership and his trust in God to his own men. 

            Great, earthy stories from the best seller by God.  But where does this leave us?  First of all you and I are so very much like Saul.  Yes, I said Saul.  The same nature that beat in the heart of Saul beats in each of our hearts.  When we do not hold to and walk with God, listen to God, obey God, we will respond like Saul.  We will look for revenge.  We will hunt for the kill – in business or in personal relationships.   The good news is we are also like David.   If we are the ones being mistreated, misjudged and hunted down, then our response will be feelings of revenge.  I am sure David was so tempted to kill Saul in either or both encounters.  But he did not.  How we act upon our feelings can be entirely as David’s response.   Do we get even and stab someone in the back to fulfill the vengeful feeling or do we spare and do the godly thing?   Today we would hope we would turn to and follow Jesus’ guidance:  “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”  NOT:  As they do to you.

            When we listen to Jesus then we lose our more natural desire to get sucked into being pushed and pulled by those around us to do wrong.  Stand firm for the right thing.  You know the right thing because you have been reading it in God’s Word and because Jesus has been telling you.

And also we have a responsibility for truth.  The passage that Karen read from the book of James is about truth, rightness and not yielding to temptation.  We are responsible for telling the truth, for setting the situation right, for dealing honestly and with integrity with all people and in all situations.  This is what David was doing with Saul.   We are not responsible for how this will be received or for changing the heart and attitude of the other.   This means we do this even if someone goes to their death bed believing what is not true after we set them straight.

            As believers, we are to follow God’s prodding, in whatever the relationship.  We are to look at the person and the relationship through God’s eyes.   When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God looks at us through His Son Jesus Christ.  He sees us in all the white holiness and righteousness of His Son.  Our sins are charged to the account of Christ and, His righteousness is charged to our account.   As we continue to believe in Jesus we look at life through Jesus.  And we, like David, are to rely on Jesus to influence our seeing others, acting out His ways and living our lives for Him.