Tough Choices in a Fallen World
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
I Sam. 24
July 10, 2011
David C. Wright

          A number of years ago a couple came to see me for pre-marital counseling.  We’ll call them Jim and Sue.  I was surprised because I didn’t even know they were dating!  As I always do, I asked them to tell me how their relationship had developed.  It turned out that they didn’t have much of a relationship story!  They had known each other casually for a year or two, but never dated.  So I asked, “What happened, then, to bring you to this point?”  Sue said that God had told her that she was supposed to marry Jim, so she told him and he agreed to marry her!  “Sue,” I inquired, “How did God tell you?  Did you actually hear a voice?”  “No,” she responded.  “I just knew it in my heart.”
          I wasn’t so sure it was God’s voice she had heard.  Both of these people frankly were a little different, socially awkward, and constantly moving from job to job.  As I talked with them it became clear to me that they were ill-matched and I told them my concerns.  They got married anyway without my involvement.  The marriage was a disaster and ended fairly quickly.  But Jim and Sue’s situation does raise the question of how we discern God’s will on important matters in our lives.
          In today’s story from I Samuel, David faces a complex and morally difficult decision.  As I read it, pay attention to the competing voices and values which pull at him.  First, a little background.  David had recently defeated the giant, Goliath, which led to a great Israelite victory over the Philistine army.  We’ll look at that story next week.  Although David had been secretly anointed as the next king of Israel by Samuel, Saul was still on the throne.  And David’s newfound popularity was seen as a threat by jealous Saul.  A popular song of the day, sung by women as the army marched by, didn’t help matters.  “Saul has slain his thousands,” they sang, “and David his ten thousands!”  (I Sam. 18:7)  Although David served in Saul’s royal court and married one of his daughters, Saul’s increasing paranoia led to escalating conflict between the two.  On two occasions Saul even hurled a spear at David, barely missing him!
          As this story begins, David is once again on the run from Saul, who is
trying to find and kill him.  We pick up the story in I Samuel 24:1. 
          1  When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the wilderness of En-gedi."
          2  Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
          3  He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
          4  The men of David said to him, "Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, "I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.' “   (I Sam. 24:1-4a)
          Through good fortune, or an act of God, David finds Saul in a, um, vulnerable position.  Bet you didn’t know that kind of thing was in the Bible!  At any rate, David has an extremely difficult decision to make.  Should he kill Saul, who has tried to murder him on several occasions, and right now is trying to hunt him down?  Or, should he spare Saul’s life?  This is a complex moral dilemma for young David.  So we’re going to use a chart showing David’s possible reasons to kill Saul as well as reasons to spare him.
          On the “Kill Saul” side, we find God’s promises to David, which David’s men remind him about.  First, God promised David that he would be king.  If he killed Saul, that promise could be fulfilled.  God also promised that he would deliver Saul into David’s hand, and that’s what has happened here.  So, does God want David to kill Saul?  These circumstances seem divinely ordained.  What are the odds of Saul winding up in the same cave where David and his men are hiding?  God must be in this.  Might it even be disobedience for David to refuse this opportunity which God has evidently placed before him?
          Second, David would be acting in self-defense.  He didn’t set out to murder Saul.  Saul is chasing him and will no doubt kill him if he has the chance.  Saul is unstable and ruthless.  If David does not attack Saul when given an opportunity, there is a very good chance that Saul will kill him later.  Killing Saul would be justifiable self-defense.
          Third, David’s community believes that this is the right thing to do.  We often encourage people to listen to the advice and counsel of others when making a major decision.  The counsel of David’s advisors is very clear.  “Kill Saul now!” they say.  Besides, David is endangering their lives, too, if he lets Saul live.
          So we’ve got three good reasons that could lead David to believe that killing Saul is the right thing to do in this situation.  But, as is sometimes the case, discerning God’s will is not so simple.  There are also some good reasons to spare Saul.  First, there is the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”  It’s one of the 10 big ones, and one of the most important.  Although there may be exceptions to this rule, the rule still stands.  Do not kill another human being.
          Second, there is the virtue of mercy and compassion that godly people are supposed to exhibit.  We’re told later that David is a man after God’s own heart, which means his heart should reflect the virtues and priorities of God.  We know that God is forgiving and merciful.  To spare Saul would be an opportunity to show compassion and mercy.
          Third, killing Saul might make it more difficult for David to reign over Israel, because Saul still had many allies throughout the land.  If Saul were to die at David’s hand, Saul’s followers would be reluctant to support David and there could well be civil war throughout the nation.  Politically, killing Saul is not a good idea.  It would not be good for the nation or for David’s ambitions to be king over all Israel.
          To understand the final two reasons to spare Saul, we need to read the next few verses.
Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's cloak.
          5  Afterward David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul's cloak.
          6  He said 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."
          7  So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way. (I Sam. 24:4b-7)
          David’s conscience tells him not to kill Saul.  If just the disrespectful act of cutting off a corner of Saul’s cloak bothered his conscience, we can assume that killing Saul would too!  Conscience argues against killing Saul.
          Finally, (and this one seems to carry the day), David respects the fact that Saul has been selected and empowered by God’s Spirit as king.  He’s “the Lord’s anointed.”  David believes that one day he will be king, but he refuses to kill Saul as a means to that end.  It is not for him to murder the reigning king of Israel.
          So we’ve got good reasons to kill Saul and good reasons to spare him.  Sometimes discerning God’s will is a complex thing to do.  Think of the issues that we face today:  abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, homosexuality, and war.  Discerning God’s will in these matters may involve greater and lesser goods and greater and lesser evils.  God’s will is not always obvious!  In this case, David chooses to spare Saul.  Let’s see how that worked out.
          8  Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
          9  David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of those who say, "David seeks to do you harm'?
          10  This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the 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.'
          11  See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life.
          14  Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea?
          15  May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you."
          (I Sam. 24:8-15.) 
          David confronts Saul.  This is a gutsy thing to do.  He shows his loyalty to him by bowing down, calling him “my lord,” and “my father.”  He asks Saul why he seeks his life.  He holds up the corner of Saul’s cloak as proof that he means no harm to Saul, that he is no threat to him.  He even jokes with Saul, saying that he is no more threat to him than a dead dog- or even a flea on a dead dog.
          Saul responds.
          16  When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
          17  He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.
          18  Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands.
          19  For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.
          20  Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
          21  Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father's house."
          22  So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold. (I Sam. 24:16-22.) 
Saul is moved.  He weeps.  He calls David “my son.”  Saul is mentally unstable, but he’s having a moment of clarity here.  He acknowledges that David is right and he is wrong- that David has shown mercy, while Saul has shown evil.  David had only asked Saul to stop chasing him.  Saul gives him much more.  He blesses David, asking God to reward him.  He even acknowledges that David will be king!  That’s unexpected!  And then Saul makes a request.  He asks that David would not “cut him off”- the same verb used earlier when David “cut off” the corner of Saul’s cloak.  This is a request to David not to kill off Saul’s descendants after Saul dies, something which was commonly done to wipe out any pretenders to the throne.  David agrees.  Saul leaves.  And David, apparently not fully trusting Saul’s change of heart, goes to a fortified city.
          What are we to make of all this?  What can we learn from this story?  Perhaps David’s example can help us in morally confusing situations.  In this situation, David sticks with the rules he knows to be true- “Don’t murder,” and “Don’t touch God’s anointed king.”  He does this instead of speculating and trying to read God’s will into a particular set of circumstances (the fact that Saul had almost miraculously wandered into the cave where David and his men were hiding.)  Generally, that’s good advice for us, too.  We should act on what we know God expects of us, rather than relying on speculation about what God might be up to in a particular situation.  That is more solid moral ground for us. 
          And the story reminds us that we sometimes lack the time we would prefer to have in discerning God’s will.  Trying to figure out what God is up to usually takes me lots of time and reflection and prayer and discussion with others.  But sometimes, like David, we have to act quickly. 
          On Sept. 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was on United Flight 93 over Western Pennsylvania, when terrorists hijacked the plane and turned it toward Washington, D.C.  Beamer, 32 years old, was a devoted father of two and a strong Christian.  He was a youth leader at his church, and  known for his active prayer life.  Todd was a man of character.  The passengers learned from phone conversations with people on the ground about the other hijackings, and guessed that their plane would soon be used as a weapon.  They hatched a plan.  Before implementing it Todd called a phone operator with messages for his family.  He prayed the Lord’s Prayer with her.  Then he set the phone down and the operator heard him say to the other passengers, “Are you ready?  Let’s roll!”  He and the other passengers overpowered the hijackers, resulting in a horrific crash in a Pennsylvania field where they all died.  Their actions probably saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives in Washington, D.C.
          Former Senator Dan Coates wrote this: “Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization.  The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane.  The only preparation of that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self-defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private.  Habit is the daily battleground of character.” (end quote)

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