There was never a greater king in Israel than David, the son of Jesse. Meanwhile, the king prior to David would be in the running for one of the worst. That would be Saul.
Saul had already blown it, time and again, by the time David was anointed (by Samuel) to be king. So the anointing was upon David, and yet the man remaining on the throne was Saul.
In fact, by the time David was anointed by Samuel, God had Saul in His cross-hairs:
1 Sam 16:13-14
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.
It would therefore appear pretty obvious as to who was in line to rule, and who was in line for eventual replacement (at best) and destruction (at worst). Still, Saul remained on the throne because God still had some work to do. I believe some of the work still to be done was in David, and was for us to behold, for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come.
Learning the Kingdom dynamics of ruling and reigning, authority and power, accountability and position, will become more critical, both as this age accelerates toward its conclusion, and as the next age comes upon us.
Prior to David’s anointing, Samuel’s word to Saul clearly reveals the state of affairs:
1 Sam 15:27-28
27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.
28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
The prophet’s robe was torn in desperation. It was a prophetic act by a desperate man.
Meanwhile, David’s plight/flight continues, as Saul musters his army and he himself goes to hunt down the one who would eventually replace him. Jealousy and desperation are two terrible taskmasters.
1 Sam 24:1-4
1 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)
4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Are you kidding me? A potty story in the Holy Scriptures?
Amen, and amen.
I believe our great God was, and remains, so intent upon making a divine point abundantly clear, that He orchestrated the affairs of men, at a time and in a place that would leave no wiggle-room for any misunderstanding. This account almost appears as hyperbole, except for the fact that it remains in the timeless canon of Scripture for all generations, for our edification and admonishment.
We are not talking about a king on his golden throne, holding a scepter. We’re presented a desperate king on the “other kind of throne” – actually probably squatting in the dark, doing what one must do. Demeaning, lowly, inglorious. Some privacy please. But God wanted David’s holy response to be publicly proclaimed. So the lights are on and the stadium is full of onlookers, including all students of scripture, for all time. Apologies, Saul.
As “chance might have it”, David and his followers just happen to be hiding in that very cave.
David’s men (accurately) looked at this “coordinated incident” as a divine opportunity from the Lord, to take out the one who was eventually going to be taken out by God Himself.
Verse 4, again:
4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Unlike desperate-Saul tearing Samuel’s robe, desperate-David cuts the robe of the king.
But David was a man of God. Although these events occurred centuries prior to Daniel’s prophetic revelation of “authority dynamics”, David already knew in his spirit Who was in charge of the heavens and the earth.
Daniel 2:21
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
Meanwhile, back to the cave:
1 Sam 24:5
5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.
6 And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.”
The New King James bible translates the Hebrew word “masiyah” as “anointed of the Lord”. We would recognize it better as messiah. The anointed one.
As a result of his own intimacy with God, David understood eternal Kingdom principles, and in that understanding recognized that Saul, not yet having been removed by God Himself, still sat in the position of anointing, even though he was not living the lifestyle of anointing. It did not matter to David.
David’s theology was not corrected by God, although there are many times in Scripture when God in His love, mercy, and accuracy would correct false statements or faulty conclusions made by even His most beloved servants (He corrected Elijah when the prophet bemoaned his being the only righteous one left in Israel – 1 Kings 19:14-18. And He corrected Nathan when the prophet agreed with then-reigning David that David building God a temple would be a good idea – 1 Chron 17:1-5). It would therefore seem reasonable to consider God’s silence in the cave (at David’s proclamation about “messiah Saul”) as being His quiet affirmation of David’s theology.
Further studying the subsequent dialogue between David and Saul, we can see that David clearly understood who he was, who Saul was, who God was, and what would be the eventual outcome to the injustices of life. David was no chump. And yet David chose the very highest ground, and in so choosing postured himself for promotion by God.
2 Samuel 24
8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.
9 And David said to Saul:“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘ Indeed David seeks your harm ’?
10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed. ’
11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.
12 Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.
13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘ Wickedness proceeds from the wicked. ’ But my hand shall not be against you.
14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
15 Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”
16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “ Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
17 Then he said to David:“You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.
18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.
God’s kindness to Saul, via David, should have led Saul to repentance. Instead, it only led him to regret. Regret being insufficient without the added component of complete turning, Saul was destined to eventual destruction by the hand of the Lord.
Where is all this going to? It is going to the New Testament, to the days of grace, to the intense times in which we live.
The Kingdom principle of God placing sometimes unlikely people into anointed positions, and still sovereignly reigning over it all, continues to mystify many. But it appears to not mystify those closest to the Lord.
Rabbi Paul is a good example. Ananias the high priest was actively opposed to the gospel message, and yet the anointed apostle demonstrated his own David-and-Saul-in-the-cave theology as he stood before a courtroom of ungodly men and repented for basically calling a spade a spade:
Acts 23:1-5
1 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
5 Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'”
There is a more divine realm than the one in which we physically function daily. Our great God is watching us, testing us, and training us to live by the principles of that divine realm. Those principles include understanding and recognizing our God’s sovereignty over all things. Either He is God of all, or else He is not God at all.
Leaderships come and go. The ones in higher places, with higher callings, have the greater, not the lesser, accountability. The Centurion got it. He told Jesus that he was a man “UNDER authority”, not “IN authority”.
I believe we’re being invited to allow God to be God, and to humbly recognize His jealousy over His bride, the Church. His intent is to put the right people into the right places, for the right times – to grow people, sovereignly as well as experientially, into their own fullness.
He is therefore dealing with us all, wanting to perfect us all. Iron will continue to sharpen iron, with sparks. His timing is not our timing. His desire is for all of us to walk in intimacy, and therefore in success. The exercising of our free will is what will determine our individual success or failure.
Leader or follower, the redeemed are called to be stewards of the greater grace. God is rooting for us all. He wants us all to make it. His desire is that we all live up to our destiny calls.
The warnings put forth towards all (saved or unsaved) who would choose to continue to walk in error, or rebellion, arrogance, or unbridled authority, are clear. And they are severe. An admonition for the saved, the servant of Luke 12 is master over other servants, but acting as a cruel authority. This is from the lips of our Lord:
Luke 12:45-49
45 “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
46 “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
47 “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
God is cooking up something radical these days. The whole creation groans, waiting for the revelation of us.
This is why we are told to pray for those in authority. This is why we’re told love covers a multitude of sin. This is why we’re told that the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have one for another.
I believe a radical demonstration of our true faith has and will remain our belief in God’s ability to accomplish His purposes, to prepare His people, and to perfectly coordinate who will be in what position in His church. The only person who will ever be able to prevent any one of us from realizing our full destiny call, will be ourselves. No man, no ministry, no created being will be able to separate us from the fullness.
We’re invited to have a heart like David.
All scripture NKJV
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good word!