August 28, 2023

God will take care of evil one day—don't rush Him, trust Him.

1 Samuel 26

Abby Rose
Monday's Devo

August 28, 2023

Monday's Devo

August 28, 2023

Monday's Devo

August 28, 2023

Monday's Devo

August 28, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 26:9-11

But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?" And David said, "As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go."

1 Samuel 26

David Spares Saul Again

1 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”

17 Saul recognized David's voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the LORD who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD's anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

S2:166 1 Samuel 26

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Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 26

I love justice. As an enneagram one, of course I do. It's this love of justice that almost had me consider going to law school during college (I didn't, and praise God for that). That being said, it's easy for me to read this chapter and identify with Abishai. David was on the offense; he had the upper hand. Why not strike while the iron (or, in this case, the spear) was hot?

Saul certainly deserved it, right? He had pursued David on three separate occasions, forcing him to go on the run and leave the Promised Land. It's only fair that David take his revenge and return home safely.

David, however, knew that he did not have control. Saul was God's anointed king; we see this earlier in the book. "Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, 'Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies.'" (1 Samuel 10:1).

David trusts the Lord's wisdom in earthly authority in 1 Samuel 26:9-10. "But David said to Abishai, 'Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?' And David said, 'As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.'"  

All of this culminates with God being perfectly just. "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you." (Psalm 89:14) In God's justice, He is also merciful and gracious (Psalm 103:8). God despises evil, but He is not evil.

Just like David, I can have confidence that God will avenge all injustice in the world. It might not be in this lifetime, but it will certainly come later. I don't have to rush God or take matters into my own hands. I know I can have peace since I trust God.

This month's memory verse

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

– Mark 10:45

Discussion Questions

1. Is it hard for you to trust and believe the Lord will exact vengeance? Why or why not?

2. Do you have a hard time seeing that the Lord is both perfectly just and good? What stories or Scripture do you find yourself wrestling with?

3. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." Does this comfort you knowing God is just even after death? What action(s) does this spur you toward?

4. What are ways you can practically trust God even when you feel injustice is all around you?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Abby,   Enneagram 3 here.  So I went to business school to advance and compete.  My ambition and energy drove me to a self-controllable position where I could control the rate of my advance and didn’t have to rely on others.    Often, I was too trusting or totally not trusting at all. You can imagine how that worked out.  It didn’t.   Love this from your devo-   “David, however, knew that he did not have control.”   “David trusts the Lord's wisdom in earthly authority in 1 Samuel 26:9-10.”   I see those two as connected and sequential; trust only comes after control is relinquished.     Q1.  Trust His justice?    B.C, I often did not.  This led to a lot of resentments.  Their only “attribute” was to expend my re:gen inventory.   A.D. It took awhile.  I had to get the answer to the Three Big Questions; Who is God, Who am I ?  Why am I here?  Once I was able to learn and be taught those answers the rest came fairly easily.    Q2.  Same B.C. struggle and A.D. resolution.  I understand the cleansing necessary in Judges but I still am uncomfortable with it.   Q3.  Justice even in death?  I accept it.  Yet, I have a lot of family members and friends who I don’t think will make it.  Very sad that many have indicated they want no further conversation on the subject.   Q4.  One of my primary Go-To passages on trust in the craziness of life is Hebrews 12:1-3.  Keep my eyes focused on Jesus.
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Hugh Stephenson

I like the old saying, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, then you’ll make every problem look like a nail.”   David was initially called to be a Shepherd. Then to use his tools used as a protector of animal sheep as a warrior to protect “people” sheep.     Yet, he risks addressing every issue as if it were Goliath or the Philistines or some other military target.   What I notice is that through the last several chapters David understands that God has a bigger tool box for him than he realizes.  The conviction to not kill Saul in the cave and now to spare him again contrasts sharply with Saul’s complete lack of repentance.    In recovery ministries and discipleship I can get discouraged when week after week I see little growth in a person’s spiritual path.  Failure to repent and even relapses happen. I was greatly encouraged by a teaching a few years back that pointed out that my discipleship with a person might only be a few steps or it may be a walk of many years. God determines that and my job is to be faithful; know Him and make Him known.    Regarding justice, I recall this tragic incident in Charleston in 2015-   “On June 17, 2015, an anti-black mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed and a tenth was injured during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.”    What stunned everyone was the reaction of the church members who forgave the shooter.  They were not in any way hyper focused on “justice” in a secular understanding.    Many years ago a young man killed a girl in a drunk driving incident.  After his jail time was over, he joined AA and landed in the same group as a friend of mine.  The young man had gone to the girl’s family and asked forgiveness and offered amends.  He repented and pledged to live a sober life as a “living amends”.  I am confident he has done great work in recovery programs since then.   What a contrast such tragedies can convey.
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Hugh Stephenson

From the notes:      “The main lesson of chapter 26 appears in verse 23: "the LORD will repay" (cf. Prov. 20:22; 24:29; Rom. 12:17, 19). The Lord Jesus Christ is our greatest example of someone who trusted the Father to vindicate Him (cf. Luke 23:46). The vindication of Christians does not always come in this lifetime, as David's did. Sometimes it comes after death, as Jesus' vindication did. Another great revelation is God's patience with Saul. God gave him many opportunities to repent and to experience God's blessing, within the sphere of his judgment (cf. 15:26), but Saul did not repent.”   “David had borne witness twice to Saul's guilt before God (chs. 24 and 26; cf. Num. 35:30). God proceeded to put him to death not long after this (ch. 31). David became God's instrument in passing judgment on Saul for his sin and so became a blessing to all Israel.”   Abner and Joab will play important roles in the next several chapters.   https://www.gotquestions.org/Abner-in-the-Bible.html   https://www.gotquestions.org/Joab-in-the-Bible.html   https://www.gotquestions.org/Abner-and-Joab.html   https://www.gotquestions.org/mighty-men-David.html
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Michael Sisson

Re: 1Sam 26:12 1 Sam 26:12 (NASB) So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, >>>because a sound sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.<<< This opportunity seems like a test from the L-rd (see 1Sam 26:23), which David passed.
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Sue Bohlin

Bless you, Abby! I am so grateful for these pre-coronation stories of King David as the Lord has him in Royal Boot Camp. One opportunity after another to learn the Number One Thing about being Yahweh's king: TRUSTING GOD. We see how David keeps choosing well (till we get to the first verse of the next chapter, anyway) to lay down his ego and trust God's timing and ways. It's like developing muscle memory by training over and over and over for piano performance, or football drills, or dance choreography, or (as I am teaching again) cursive handwriting or calligraphy. One of the "kingship muscle memory" skills David is practicing is discernment about what to do when his closest friends are giving him bad advice. We see him (apparently, because the text doesn't tell us what he was thinking, but we see what he DOES) compare Abishai's counsel--looking only at outward appearances--to God's word and His character, and he chooses to trust God rather than Abishai's offer to kill Saul and put an end to the HARD of boot camp. I also love the detail of God putting Saul and his boys into a deep sleep so David could snag Saul's spear and water jug. He has SO MANY ways of supporting His people! Reminding ourselves of His unlimited creativity in pouring out grace and support is a way we can grow in trust like David did.
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Michael Scaman

3rd account in a row where David leaves judgement of an unfair situation in God's hands. Saul, Nabal, Saul again. Saul had promised to leave David alone and not keeping his promise. David still leaves Saul in God's hands. Things ultimately in God's hands does not mean David does nothing. David leaves it in God's hands, but David acts as well and will take drastic measures going to the Philistines. (You wonder if it crossed Abigail's mind 'What have I gotten myself into with this guy?' Abigail said David will be king of Israel then he goes to live with the Philistines? Was her faith tested?) Abigail, this one would be the mother of David's som Chiliab. David has a sister ironically also named Abigail and ironically she would be the mother of Amassa who was the commander of David's son Absolom who had an insurrection. One of David's first Psalms, Psalm 3, inspired by the pain of fleeing from his own son. Samuel died as David has left Saul in God's hands. Perhaps God's purposes for Samuel were done.
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Amy Lowther

1. I trust the Lord helps identify and resolve vengeance. He helps the truth be seen in ourselves and in our opportunities. 2. No, the Lord’s ways are good. I share scriptures with the child I sponsor from El Salvador. 3. Yes, it shows God believes in what He says and in what He teaches. God spurs me on to learn from Him and to apply what I learn from Him in daily life. God is powerful and God is almighty. 4. In times of injustice, I can trust God because of the unconditional love He offers everyone.