Comments on 1 Samuel 24 v1-7 After Saul is done with the Philistine incursion, he returns to pursuing David (v. 1-2). In the heat of the summer dun, Saul goes to relieve himself from the heat of the day by resorting to a cave, cp. Judges 3:24 (caves stay a consistent 50 degrees F year round). Unwittingly, David and some of his men are hiding in the very same cave (v. 3). David's men see this as an act of Providence and encourage him to kill Saul, but all David does is cut of a piece of clothing (v. 4). Afterwards, David feels guilty about even doing that (v. 5) and prevents his men from doing anything more to Saul, so Saul leaves nonplused to the entire incident (v. 6-7). v4-7 The KJV does not well reflect the force and emotion of the Hebrew here. The JPS does a better job and portraying David's emphatic emotions: 5 David's men said to him, "This is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'I will deliver your enemy into your hands; you can do with him as you please.'" David went and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul's cloak. 6 But afterward David reproached himself [Literally, "David's heart struck him] for cutting off the corner of Saul's cloak. 7 He said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my lord the Lord's anointed that I should raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord's anointed." 8 David rebuked his men and did not permit them to attack Saul. v6 I do not understand why David is still considering Saul the Lord's anointed servant at this point. We know full well that Samuel has revoked Saul's kingship and anointed David as king in his place. What they is David's loyalty based upon? It cannot be that the Lord endorses Saul as it is clear that is not the case at all. I suspect what is happening here is we are given another example of people ascribing things to the Lord that are not the Lord's views at all. In the previous chapter we have Saul ascribing the seemingly imminent capture of David to the Providence of the Lord, and then we have David's men saying that Saul's taking a nap in their cave is Providence from the Lord, and now we have David saying that Saul is the Lord's anointed when we know very well that he isn't. Thus, I would conclude that this is a lesson in subjectivity, where people ascribe things to the Lord without asking Him what He really thinks on the matter. We have David previously enquiring the Lord what to do (cf. 23:10-12), but here there is no such inquiry and no such revelation. David is simply acting on his emotions, and he makes assumptions based upon them which are contrary to the revelations of the Lord. We should also consider the ramifications of David killing Saul, and the possibility of David's cognisance of those ramifications. If David was the next in line for king, and he killed the present king, then what would that say to whoever was next in line after him? It is possible that David saw these ramifications and made it clear in front of his men that he wanted no part of a murderous and literally back-stabbing monarchy which promoted kings by disposing of the present one. He may have been setting the example that you are not to kill the Lord's anointed, which at that point in time was in reality himself and not Saul. It would have been easy for David's men to see David kill Saul, and then for one of them to be promoted militarily as David was under Saul and then dispose of David in a similar manner. While it is possible that David had this in mind, there is nothing in the text suggesting it overtly as David's primary, or even secondary, motivator. His primary motivator is to not offend God (cf. v. 6, 11-12). v8-15 After Saul leaves the cave, David confronts him with the piece of cloth cut from his clothing, showing that he could have killed him if he chose to (v. 8-11). He calls on God to witness that he has done nothing to Saul to harm him (v. 12-13). He then debases himself as nothing before Saul (v. 14-15). v13 This passage is intended to be primarily aimed at David himself, to indicate that there is no wickedness in him, as is evidenced by his failure to kill Saul when given the opportunity. However, it obviously has application to Saul as well, as Saul is trying to kill David, and if he does so then he is convicted of murdering an innocent man in whom there is no wickedness. v16-19 Saul is humiliated by the circumstances and admits that he was wrong about David. v18-20 Saul admits to himself that all of his rationalizations that the Lord was delivering David into his hands (cf. 23:6, 21) were just a lot of nonsense, and that the Lord was in fact delivering him into David's hands (v. 18). He then pronounces David as one whom the Lord will bless for doing good in return for evil (v. 19), and by this act Saul knows that David is in fact the king of Israel. v20-23 Part of Saul's fear is that when David takes over the kingdom he will exterminate all of Saul's children and completely annihilate his lineage (cf. 20:31). This was a typical thing at that time so as to avoid internal revolt from the prior king's children. That coupled with Saul's paranoia would make it a motivator as well as justification for Saul's murderous intent. v20 That Saul in convinced of David's right to kingship because of this act of beneficence shows the Hebrew concept of right of rulership contained requirements of spirituality, generosity, and selflessness. The Hebrew concept sees the king as one anointed of the Lord, and therefore one who must be spiritually worthy of such an anointing. Thus, spirituality was key and fundamental, kingship and nobility were not determined solely, or even primarily, upon lineage. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.