1 Samuel · chapter 24 of 31
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1 Samuel 24 tells how Saul pursues David with three thousand men to Engedi and enters a cave where David and his men are hiding. David cuts off the edge of Saul's robe but refuses to kill the Lord's anointed. Afterward he shows Saul the piece of cloth, and Saul, weeping, admits that David is more righteous and will reign over Israel.
In chapter 23 Saul nearly caught David and was interrupted by a Philistine raid. Chapter 24 puts the two face to face in an extraordinary moment: David has Saul at his mercy and chooses not to take revenge. It is one of the clearest scenes of what it means to trust God instead of taking justice into one's own hands.
When Saul returns from pursuing the Philistines, he is told that David is in the wilderness of Engedi. He takes three thousand chosen men and goes out to look for him. On the way there is a cave, and Saul goes in to relieve himself. David and his men were in the innermost part of that cave. His men tell him this is the day the Lord has given his enemy into his hand. David rises and quietly cuts off the edge of Saul's robe.
Afterward David's heart strikes him because he cut off the edge of the robe, and he tells his men that the Lord forbid he should do such a thing to his lord, the Lord's anointed. With these words he restrains his men and does not permit them to attack Saul. Saul leaves the cave and goes on his way.
David then goes out and calls to Saul: my lord the king. He bows with his face to the ground and asks why Saul listens to those who say David seeks his harm. He shows him the piece of the robe and tells him that the Lord gave him into his hand in the cave but that he would not stretch out his hand against him. He says the Lord judge between them and avenge him, but his hand will not be against him. He calls himself a dead dog and a flea, and leaves his cause in the hands of the Lord.
Saul asks whether this is the voice of David, his son, and lifts up his voice and weeps. He admits that David is more righteous than he, that he has repaid him good for evil, and that he knows David will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in his hand. He asks him to swear that he will not cut off his offspring or wipe out his name from his father's house. David swears it. Saul goes home, and David and his men go up to the stronghold.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David says the Lord forbid that he should raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. David respects the king God placed, even though that king pursues him unjustly.
David tells Saul that the Lord judge between them and avenge him, but that his hand will not be against him. He leaves justice in God's hands rather than doing it himself.
Saul admits that David is more righteous than he, because he repaid him good for evil. It is a remarkable confession, showing that Saul knows the truth even if he does not always act on it.
Saul says he knows that David will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in his hand. Even the pursuing king admits that God's choice cannot be stopped.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Three thousand chosen men from all Israel. — 1 Samuel 24:2
Answer: In the innermost part of the cave. — 1 Samuel 24:3
Answer: He quietly cut off the edge of the robe. — 1 Samuel 24:4
Answer: Because Saul was the Lord's anointed and David would not raise his hand against him. — 1 Samuel 24:6
Answer: That David was more righteous than he, for he had repaid him good for evil. — 1 Samuel 24:17
Answer: That he would not cut off his offspring or wipe out his name from his father's house. — 1 Samuel 24:21
The chapter shows that an apparent opportunity is not always a sign from God. David's men saw in the cave the chance to end the problem, but David saw a test of character. In a small group you can talk about when we have had the chance to take revenge or take advantage of someone, and how to trust that the Lord will do justice.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies, and David shows a preview of that: he respects the one who pursues him and leaves the door open to reconciliation. It is not a matter of being naive, since David keeps protecting himself, but of renouncing revenge and keeping a clear conscience before God.
1 Samuel 24 ends with a fragile reconciliation: Saul goes home, and David stays in the stronghold. In chapter 25 Samuel dies, and David nearly makes the mistake of taking revenge on Nabal, from which the wisdom of Abigail will stop him.
The robe was a symbol of the king's authority, and cutting it was an act of disrespect toward the Lord's anointed, though David did not do it intending harm. The text shows a sensitive conscience, even over a small act.
It is a way of expressing extreme humility: David says he is no threat to the king of Israel but someone insignificant. With these words he shows that he does not seek the throne by force and leaves his cause in the Lord's hands.