Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Samuel 25-27.
As Saul pursued David, David had several opportunities to kill the king and save himself. Yet each time, David refused to kill Saul. Notice his explanation why on this occasion:
“The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He deliver me from all distress” (1 Samuel 26:23-24).
David’s trust and faith were in the Lord. Therefore, he was looking to Him for deliverance from his enemies and the threat that existed from the king.
Though one might argue that David would be justified in killing Saul, as it would have been an act of self-defense, David would not do it. Why? He certainly killed many others on different occasions. The most recent episode came in Keilah where David and his men “fought with the Philistines… and struck them with a great slaughter” (1 Samuel 23:5). So why would he not do the same thing to Saul? It was because Saul was “the Lord’s anointed.”
Despite the fact that David had opportunities to kill Saul, he did not use them because he wanted to be righteous and faithful before God in order to receive His blessing. The opportunity to kill Saul did not change the definitions of righteous and faithful. Therefore, he did what was right, not what was convenient.
People today often mistake opportunity for God’s approval. They believe that if certain events transpire that make it possible for them to do something, then it must be right because God somehow caused things to work out that way. Opportunities do not determine what is right. God’s word determines what is right (cf. John 17:17; Romans 1:16). Therefore, we must decide what to do based upon the word of God, not the opportunities that are in front of us.
Tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 17, 35, 54, 63
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
