Jump Start # 941

1 Samuel 24:4-5 The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

We are taking a look at the life of David this week. The giant killer has become a national hero. People love him. King Saul is jealous of him. Saul seems to have some serious mental issues, to put it politely. He’s nuts to put it bluntly. For a decade he chases David around the country trying to kill him. He risks national security by ignoring what other nations are doing and by ordering his troops after David. Time after time the weary David barely escapes the death grips of Saul. On more than one occasion David has the opportunity to end this nightmare by killing Saul. Many would feel that he was justified and had the right to defend himself. David felt different.

Our passage today takes place in a cave. David and his men are hiding in the cave. Saul comes into the cave to go to the bathroom. David is so close that he cuts off the edge of Saul’s robe. How Saul didn’t see David is unreal. Later, David will reveal what he did to Saul and uses that to show that he could have killed him but he didn’t. The cutting of the robe bothered David. Saul was the king, as terrible as he was. He was anointed by God. There was a respect for the position and a love for the Lord that made David honor the dishonorable Saul. David was leaving Saul in God’s hands. It was God’s timetable. In time, Saul would die a violent death in battle against the Philistines. David would be made king. It took time. David waited.

Of course there are some lessons for us.

First, there is a respect for a position. David honored the position. Someday he would be in that position. His example would show his men what that was all about. The person who holds the position of president, governor, boss, parent may not be honorable or respectable, but that does not give us the right to be mean, rude, disrespectful or ugly toward them. The golden rule, Matthew 7:12, reminds us to treat others the way we would like to be treated. We do not treat them the WAY they have treated us. David grasped that principle long before Jesus spoke it. Had he treated Saul the way he was being treated, he would have killed the king. David was wiser than that. Those in political office often abuse the system, ignore the people that voted them in and live above the very laws that they create. Far too many of them live drunken and irresponsible lives while wanting the folks back home to obey the laws they have made. Too many of them are pitiful examples and are so disrespectful that few honor them at all. Their position is honorable, even if they as a person are not. The same goes for parents. Far too many are dysfunctional, confused, addicted and a mess. Kids are neglected, and especially abused spiritually. Too many parents fail. This does not give teenagers the right to be sassy, ugly and disrespectful towards them. The position of parenting is honorable.

Second, David did not take matters into his own hands. He made room for the vengeance of God. He allowed God to deal with things that were not his right to get involved with. Let God do His part and we must be busy doing our part. Don’t cross those lines. Don’t get involved with God’s area of things. It is not our right to decide who is going to Heaven or Hell. Telling people that they will go to Hell generally doesn’t lead to godly behavior. Most often it makes them mad and shuts down any lines of communication you had with that person. Who goes to Hell is God’s prerogative. Likewise, making spiritual law is God’s rights not ours. The church’s only by-laws ought to be the New Testament. The church doesn’t make rules. The church doesn’t command, God does. We must respect what belongs to God.

Third, David waited upon God. We sing, “In His time…” That’s hard. We want things in our time. We want things right now. Waiting is hard for most of us. If we have to wait in the check out line at the store, we sigh, complain and just about have a fit. There are things that take time. There are things that are in God’s time table. Impatience often messes things up.

When teaching a friend about the Bible, it take time. Let the Bible work on their mind and heart. Don’t rush things. Don’t be quick or push them to things they are not ready for. Be patient. The word of God is powerful. It will work on an good and honest heart. The farmer who plants must wait for the harvest. There is no speeding up things there.

Raising kids takes time. Some lessons have to be repeated over and over. Growth, learning and getting things takes time. The impatient parent is in for many rough battles. Their impatience will make things more difficult than they should be.

David did not treat Saul the way he was being treated. David showed honor, kindness and respect. It’s hard to do that toward an enemy. This is why Jesus said to pray for your enemy. Pray instead of cutting off their head. Pray instead of complaining. Pray instead of being rude. Have you prayed about it?

David and Saul…what a contrast! What lessons we learn.

Roger