Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
Have you ever been bullied or persecuted when you had done nothing wrong? My husband Michael experienced this in a workplace where he had created a great program and all was going well, but his boss was jealous and wanted to take credit for himself and worked toward getting Michael made redundant. There wasn’t much Michael could do. There are times when it is right that we take moves to ensure justice is done, but there are times when we need to follow Jesus’ teaching and example to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies. At times this is extremely hard to do.
In our readings from 1 Samuel today we see a perfect example of how David is a man after God’s own heart. Instead of seeking revenge, taking matters in his own hands or hating King Saul, David honours and loves him, despite the King’s unwarranted desire to kill David.
Last week Luke took us through the faith filled story of David and Goliath. Trusting in God David slew the giant Goliath, defeating Israel’s enemy, the Philistines.
David is then taken fully into King Sauls court. He becomes good friends with Saul’s son Jonathon. David is successful in everything he does, because he is the Lord’s anointed one. Initially this pleases King Saul and David is given a high-ranking position in the army. However, Saul becomes angry and jealous when the people start praising David more than they praise him – the King.
In chapter 18 we read of the women dancing and singing… “Saul has slain thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
Saul begins to keep a close eye on David, and as an evil spirit continues to take hold, he tries to kill David. You can read of several attempts from chapter 18. God is protecting David; he is the one anointed to be King. In contrast, Jonathon is never jealous of David, he recognized God’s hand on him, even though it means he will not be King when his father dies.
Saul, however, sees David as a threat to his Kingship, and rather than valuing and appreciating what he is doing, he becomes paranoid and is intent on killing David. He chooses to make David his enemy. Though David had only served Saul wholeheartedly.
Jonathon believed and trusted in the Lord, who was in control. He chose to be a loyal friend, who seeks to protect David even from his own father.
But not Saul, he had become greedy and jealous, and was not listening to the Lord. He would do anything to hold onto power. (Don’t we see that in some leaders throughout the world today?!) Saul’s desperate attempts to remove David from the scene were a deliberate if hopeless attempt to thwart God’s plans.
David keeps escaping Saul’s clutches as Saul pursues him. The Lord continually protects David. With the Lord on David’s side, Saul will not be able to kill him. As David knew and proclaimed when he slew Goliath, he trusts that the battle belongs to the Lord.
In chapter 24 we read how David and his men are hiding out in the caves in En Gedi, by the dead sea, where there was plenty of water and food.
The writer of Samuel gives us a wonderful narrative again as he describes how David and his men are in the cave when Saul, who is in pursuit of David again, goes into the very cave David is in, to… ‘relieve himself’.
David has an easy opportunity to take revenge and kill his pursuer Saul, his men encourage him to do so, but he does not. David and his men would know the laws as written in Exodus and Leviticus that say, ‘an eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth.’ His men thought he had every right to kill Saul.
However, David is seen to be embracing a different law, that many years later Jesus will teach; to love your enemy. Instead of seeking the death of Saul, David creeps up unnoticed and cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe.
But instead of being smug about this, he is soon ‘conscience stricken’. Such is David’s loyalty to his King, this King who would rather David was dead. He acknowledges his sin in even snipping Saul’s robe, for Saul is King, David sees him as the Lord’s anointed one, and that he must wait. Despite what his men say, the Lord had not asked him to kill Saul, so he trusts in the Lord’s timing and the Lord’s judgement of Saul, rather than taking things into his own hands.
Once Saul has left the cave and is at a safe distance, David calls out to him, as Lord and King. He bows before him. His posture is one of humility.
He even tries to make it look like the King is just following bad advice from his men, rather than the truth that it is all Saul’s paranoia and jealousy that is driving this pursuit of David.
He shows Saul the cloth of his robe that he cut off to show that he has no intention of harming the King. He calls him father, showing his love and loyalty and his desire for that close relationship again. Saul was in fact his father-in-law as he had given David his daughter Michal in marriage.
David does take the opportunity to declare his innocence and vows that he will never harm Saul. The Lord, he says will be their judge and will avenge the wrongs you have done to me.
If we read on, we hear Saul’s response to David’s speech:
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.
It seems that Saul comes to his right mind for a moment and acknowledges the truth of David’s words, he even acknowledges that one day David will be King. While Saul may have wept and called David his son, as David had called him father, his speech that appeared to be genuine, did not lead to true repentance. Saul’s actions in the coming chapters show that there was no deep change in Saul’s attitude.
We may acknowledge our sin, but unless it leads to transformation of behaviour and attitudes there is no real repentance. Saul quickly reverts to his jealousy and paranoia and in chapter 26 we read a similar story of Saul chasing David and David having the opportunity to kill Saul, but again spares his life. Saul again admits his sin but does not change his actions.
What would you do in David’s place? Would you be able to put aside the anger and desire for revenge, or would you be like David’s men, justifying revenge and seek to take advantage of the opportunity to get even? It’s very hard to forgive when we have been wrongly accused or bullied, like Michael was in the workplace. We hurt and if we are not careful, we can become bitter.
David shows in this situation how he really is a man after God’s own heart. Many years later, Jesus turned the laws of an ‘eye for eye’ around…he teaches his disciples to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Prayer is a wonderful antidote to hate, bitterness and feelings of unforgiveness. As we pray for our persecutors, we entrust judgment to the Lord, and hope that our prayers may lead the person to repentance and transformation. It is hard to hate someone you are praying for.
Next time you are feeling unforgiveness or hate or bitterness toward someone, try praying for them, ask the Lord to bless them and transform them, and ask him to help you to love them. There are of course times when we must call out bad behaviour, even David did this as he declared his innocence, but he did not take revenge into his own hands, rather he sought a renewed relationship with Saul, even though this was not to be. He humbly entrusted his battles and enemies to God’s justice and timing; he knew in time God would make him King.
On the cross, Jesus does the same. He did not seek vengeance against his enemies, he didn’t look to get even with those who opposed him. Instead, he forgave and died for them. Jesus was silent as he was tormented and flogged, and on the cross, what does he say? Father forgive them for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
Jesus trusts the Father with his life. As God would avenge Saul’s evil and place David on the throne, God also avenged Jesus by raising him from the dead and sitting him on a heavenly throne. (Ephesians 1: 20)
Jesus’ death and resurrection mean that sin and death have been defeated, though until he returns evil remains in this world. One day Jesus will return to bring judgement and righteous justice will prevail. In the meantime, our own enemies of death, pride, foolishness, hate, greed, sin, jealousy and so on have been dealt with on the cross so that we can be free. We are not free when we hold on to unforgiveness, bitterness and hate.
Today may the example of David and our Saviour Jesus be our inspiration as to how to react against those who wrongfully accuse and persecute us. We cannot do it in our own strength, but as we surrender and pray to be more like Jesus, he will give us the strength and love to do the impossible.
Let’s pray:
I invite you to take a moment now to examine your heart – for God knows it. Are you holding on to any bitterness, hate, or unforgiveness toward someone who has done you wrong? It could be someone close, like Saul and David, a family member or friend who hurt you, it could be a bully at the workplace, or even way back in your youth or school days. If that is you, can you ask God to help you surrender those feelings to him and ask him to fill you with his love and peace. Where we find it hard to forgive and love our enemies, ask the Lord to help you to pray for them, that they may be transformed. Trust God, and leave the judgement in his hands.
Thank you, Lord, that you are our judge and our defender. As David trusted you rather than take the life of his persecutor Saul, may we likewise trust in you.
Regardless of how others may treat us, may we continue to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, reflecting the heart and character of Jesus and may our actions show that we are bearing fruit for your glory Lord – goodness, faithfulness, kindness, love, joy, peace, gentleness and self-control. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who showed us how to love. Amen.