Leaving Matters with God (Part 2 of 2)

There's a moment in 1 Samuel where David has what seems like a perfect opportunity to kill King Saul and fulfill his destiny, but he waits.

He displays incredible faith in God. In contrast, today on Truth for Life, we'll see how Saul's lack of faith became evident when he passed up a life-altering moment of opportunity. Alistair Begg is teaching from 1 Samuel chapter 24. Is that David then arose in response to this circumstance, in the balance of verse 4, and he stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. And so it is a very significant thing here that David does as he does, by cutting off a corner of the robe. In light of that, how do we account for verse 5? And afterwards, David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

I mean, our immediate reaction is to say, Well, surely it's no big deal. I mean, he didn't do what the men said. And we don't even know whether when he went toward Saul, he even had it in his mind to do.

What we do know is his reaction to it. You see, David knew that although the Spirit of God had departed from Saul, he was still the Lord's anointed king. And he knew that the anointed of the Lord should never be cursed or killed. And so his conscience is immediately burdened by what he'd done. It's his conscience that gets him here. The men must have been mystified when he said to them, The LORD forbid that I should do this to my LORD, the LORD's anointed.

You see, what he is actually doing is he is cutting off—cutting off, as it were, symbolically—the kingdom. Conscience is a very important part of our lives, isn't it? In fact, there is a sense in which we could view this story in terms of a hardened, seared conscience as found in Saul, and a sensitive conscience as found in David. Conscience, the Bible says, is a basic building block of our very humanity. Why is it that even when you're a tiny boy or a girl and you reflect on your words or you reflect on your actions, you attribute to them a moral evaluation?

Peterson paraphrasing a couple of verses in Romans 2. When we react in this way, we show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation—something deep within us that echoes God's yes and no, his right and wrong. A guilty conscience is a heavy burden. In fact, conscience and a guilty conscience lies at the very heart of mental health. And it is in Jesus that conscience is settled.

Walt Chantry, in a wonderful sentence, says, Conscience is a friend to hurry you into the arms of the only Savior from the broken law and its curse. David had a sensitive conscience. Saul had a seared conscience.

What kind of conscience do you have? Notice that in verse 3 we're told that Saul went into the cave, and in verse 7 he came out of the cave. So that all that we have in the intervening verses he was completely unaware of.

He was unaware of the fact that he was so vulnerable, because the sword that cut the corner of his robe could easily have taken over his life. But with verse 7, the action ends, and we go to the conversation. Essentially, what we have are two speeches—one made by David, whereby he gives to Saul an explanation, and then one by Saul, by which he gives to us a virtual confession.

Verses 8–15, picture the scene. Saul is now on his way to join his men, and as he makes his way out of the cave and down the hillside, he hears his name being called, My Lord the King. And when he turns, he sees his archenemy standing outside the entrance to the very cave that he had just used as a bathroom.

And so here we have this pivotal moment. Not only does the Lord know when a sparrow falls to the ground, but he knows when Saul goes to the bathroom. And frankly, he knows when you go too. Saul might have looked and said, I can't believe it, that you would stand there, you rascal, you crazy rascal.

Do you realize that I have got three thousand men here that I can call and we'll take care of you in an instant? It's interesting he doesn't do that. But he's got a history with David, doesn't he? I mean, at the very beginning, when none of his great soldiers, none of his army of three thousand would go out to fight Goliath. It was a boy, a shepherd boy, who had explained, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me. Maybe that reverberated in Saul's mind as he looks at him there. So consider David's greeting. Respectful, my lord the king.

His posture he bows in homage. His question, verse 9, why do you listen to the words of those who seek to steer you wrong? Why are you listening? Why are you taking advice from the wrong people, from the people who tell you, You have a real problem, because David seeks your harm?

He has reason to say to him, You know, I was on the receiving end of bad advice just earlier today, but I rejected it, and you should have rejected it too. They told me to kill you. But I spared you. I spared you. Even though the Lord had given me into your hands, even though God, in the mystery of his providence, had so worked that by your own free choice you ended up in the particular cave in which all of us were hiding.

But I spared you. And here's my evidence, Saul. You can see him holding up a corner of the robe. See my father. See his tenderness again? See my father.

This is not play-acting by David. This is sincere. He has a sincere view of God. He has a sincere view of the servants of God, and even the flawed servants of God. See my father. And you can consider by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you can realize that I am not a rebel.

You can understand that my hands are guiltless. And yet, although I am not seeking to do this to you, at the end of verse 11, you are hunting my life to take it. He's very straightforward, isn't he? He's quite brave, I would say. That's one thing to say.

I haven't been looking for you. But then to challenge him in this way and say, But I know that what your plan is, what you want to do, is to eliminate me. And then notice, in verse 12, he says, Let's leave it to the LORD to decide this matter. May the LORD judge between me and you. May the LORD avenge me against you. If he chooses to do so, fine, but my hand shall not be against you. Now, notice he says that twice. There at the end of verse 12, and then again at the end of verse 13. My hand shall not be against you.

You should hear this song. You should understand this. And those two statements provide the bread, as it were, and the center of the sandwich is this ancient proverb, Out of the wicked comes wickedness. Now, David is very skillful here, because what he actually does is apply it to himself. He doesn't immediately say, And you're wicked, and I'm not wicked.

No. What he essentially says is, If I was wicked, I would have acted wickedly, and I would have done what I have chosen not to do—namely, to take matters into my own hands. We could pause here for a while, but we won't. Some of us have made a career out of phraseology like this. Well, I just took matters into my own hands. Well, I knew a shortcut to take. Well, I cut through the things that everybody else says are important.

You don't find any of that in him at all. If I was wicked, I would have acted wickedly. Wickedness comes out of the wicked. You see that?

Out of the wicked comes wickedness. And then he says, After whom has the king of Israel come out? You see what he's doing?

Now he pushes the envelope. After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog?

After a flea? You see what he's saying? I don't represent much of a threat. You're the one with three thousand. I'm in a cave here with six hundred men.

If I introduce you to them, you wouldn't be impressed with hardly any of them at all. And so, once again, leave it to God. May the LORD, verse 15, therefore be the judge.

May he give sentence between me and you, and see to it, and plead my cause, and deliver me from your hand. You notice that David is not saying in contemporary terms—and this is another word that has been parlayed into interesting service—he's not saying, Whatever. He's not saying that. He's not saying, Leave it to God. Who knows?

No, no. He says, Let's leave it to God, and I would actually like God to act right now and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. Now, what is happening here? Well, having chosen not to seize by force what is his by promise—namely, the throne—he then, like another shepherd king, whom we meet in the New Testament, commits his cause to him who judges justly.

That's for homework. 1 Peter chapter 2. Peter uses that when he's talking about the difficulties of life and of when we are persecuted and when we are reviled. And then he says—and if you want an example of how to deal with this—Let's look to he who is the shepherd king. For when he was reviled, he did not revile in return, but he committed his cause to him who judges justly.

A very hard thing to do, but many an issue would be settled—many an issue would be settled—if we would refuse to try and cut the corners, if we would refuse to try and take matters into our own hands, if we would refuse to try and avenge ourselves. It's the way of David. It's the way of Jesus. It's the way of the Master. You may recall, actually, that when the person brings forward David as a potential for the kingdom and introduces him in all of his various elements of usefulness, one of the things that is said of him is that he is a young man who is prudent in speech.

Prudent in speech. And if we had no other place to illustrate that than here, we certainly have it confirmed. Well, then we turn to the final section, whereby Saul, in his response, gives us something of a confession. As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "'Is this your voice, my son David?'" Now, we've noted in the past that he doesn't like calling anybody by their name. It kind of puts them on a level with him. And so he's been referring to him all along as the son of Jesse, in a sort of disarming and disregarding way.

But now, no. "'My son David, is this your voice? Have his eyes flooded with tears so that he cannot see clearly?' And what would produce tears in the big king filled with animosity? Not the sword of David but the sweetness of David." Do you think about that?

Who knows? But that God's kindness would lead you to repentance. Kindness through his tears.

Now, what's going on here? Is this the stirring of his conscience? Or is this just the chilling sense of all that is gone, suddenly in the moment he realizes what could have been?

All of the regret, all of the failure, all of the disappointment, just flooding his heart. And then he has to be honest, and in verse 17, tell David, you know, "'You're more righteous than I, for you repaid me for good, and I repaid you with evil. You didn't try and kill me, even though every day I try and kill you.

And you even had the opportunity to do so, when I was so vulnerable and didn't even know it.'" Because he says, if a man—verse 19—finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? But see, here's the thing. David was Saul's enemy. But Saul wasn't David's enemy.

Saul wasn't gonna let him go away safe, as we're going to see the story continues. But you see, David was the one upon whom God had set his heart that David might be the king. It's really quite wonderful. It's a precious moment in Holy Scripture, isn't it? Because what we're really listening to is the voice of a broken man. And when God breaks into a life, it's a moment of opportunity. And it can be seized, and it can lead on to forgiveness and reconciliation and glory. And here, there is a moment of reconciliation, but there is no relationship that is reestablished.

It's a passing moment. And Saul, recognizing what's going on, he says, Well, I know that you shall surely be the king, that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. You remember back in chapter 20, that is what Jonathan said. He said, You know, my father knows this, but this is the first time that from the lips of Saul it's been acknowledged. But, you know, what is sad about this is that his response, as genuine as it may be in the moment, is clearly ultimately superficial.

It is in some measure sentimental and is definitely short-lived. It's very hard, as we get to the end of the chapter, not to recognize the sense of self-preservation that is part of this man Saul. If you remember back in chapter 15, when, in that encounter with Samuel, and he tears Samuel's robe, and Samuel says to him, You're done, you're finished. And then he's so concerned that he will preserve something for himself and for those who come after him. And that's what he's doing here in verse 21. Swear to me, therefore, by the LORD, that you will not cut off my offspring.

In other words, David, you've cut off my robe, but please don't cut off my future. Is he really concerned about his place in history? Yes. Has he any idea of how he will be viewed?

No. In contemporary terms, he wants his own library, not realizing that when people in subsequent generations go into his library, he will be remembered as a malevolent king who sought out the LORD's anointed. David, if he was like me, he would have said, You know what? I should have killed you back there in the cave. I think I'll kill you now. But David swore to Saul.

Why? Well, because he'd already made a covenant with Jonathan, his dear buddy, his best friend in the world. You remember, Jonathan had said to him, If I'm still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die. And do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever. For when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth, please don't do that. So his sweet response to Saul, who doesn't deserve it, is on the basis of a covenant that he had made with his dear and best of friends. So Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Why? There's gonna be more fields to furrow, more walls to mend, more chases to elude. Let me finish in this way. David's pathway to the throne, as we're following it, is clearly a long and a winding road. As we watch him, he's chosen not to try and cut the corners. He has chosen not to take matters into his own hands and try and speed the process. It becomes very, very clear that in his life what we're dealing with is not a series of accidental events but that God is working his purpose out. Actually, if you allow yourself to go all the way back to the beginning and catch up again, and you go back to Hannah's prayer in chapter 2, it was there that Hannah, as she prays, says, God is the one who raises up and God is the one who brings things down.

David—look at him—was prepared to wait for God's time and was prepared to rest in God's providence. And like him, and in turn like Jesus, we learn, then, to leave God to order all our ways. Is that what you're doing in these days? Is that what I'm doing? With the things that threaten us, the things that annoy us, the people that challenge us? You want to cut the corners? You want to take it into your own hands?

You want to say, I'm bigger than this, I'm better than this? Or do you want to acknowledge that you are weak and that all your strength is found in God alone? In the words of Jesus, am I prepared to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and trust that all these other things that are my preoccupations or my passions, all these other things will be taken care of by God.

Leave God to order all your ways. You're listening to Truth for Life. That is Alistair Begg with the conclusion of a message he's titled, Leaving Matters with God.

Keep listening. Alistair will be back in a moment to close today's program with prayer. We trust that the teaching you hear on Truth for Life challenges you to reflect on God's word, to remember his promises, and to rest in his care like David did. Our study in 1 Samuel is a great way to affirm your faith and assess your circumstances in light of God's perfect truth and his unfolding plan.

I hope you're finding it helpful. There are so many valuable lessons in this study in 1 Samuel and if you're like me, you might be trying to mentally make a point of remembering all that you're learning as you listen. Recalling God's word is foundational to living it out. In fact, God connects his blessing with continual meditation on his word. So let me encourage you to make it a priority to memorize scripture and the book we want to recommend to you today is a short, easy-to-read instruction booklet that will give you a specific approach for memorizing passages of scripture, even complete books of the Bible. It's called How to Memorize Scripture for Life. Request the booklet when you give a donation to support the Bible Teaching Ministry of Truth for Life.

Visit truthforlife.org slash donate or call us at 888-588-7884. Now on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week, Alistair is hosting the 2024 Basics Conference for pastors and church leaders. I'm sure he and the more than 1,300 men attending would appreciate your prayers over the weekend. Please pray for safe travel as they make their way to Cleveland, for the conference to be a time of encouragement so that these servants of the Lord remain committed to proclaiming the gospel faithfully. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Now here's Alistair. In your time, in your time, you make all things beautiful in your time. Lord, please show me every day as you're teaching me your way, that you do just what you say in your time. Lord, help us to take our hands from the steering wheel and to rest in your divine providential care. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

I'm Bob Lapeen. Thanks for studying with us this week. I hope you have a great weekend and are able to worship with your local church. And then join us on Monday as we'll take a look at ordinary people and seemingly disconnected events, looking at all of it through the lens of God's providence. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.