A Man of War At Peace In War

When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.  Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.  Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.  Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. (1 Samuel 30:3-6 NASB)

 So, the Philistines don't like David.  They send him home rather than permit him to go into battle with them.  The king of Gath even had him set to be his body guard.  It was going to be glorious!  David and his six hundred were set to turn the tide against the Philistines, perhaps destroying all the leaders of the Philistine cities.  Or whatever David had in mind, we'll never know.  Instead he was sent home.  God had something else for him to take care of.

Upon reaching his city, given to him by the king of Gath, it has been raided and burned with fire.  I think, from clues within the chapter, that the Amalekites knew that their troubles had come from Ziklag, David's city, and had come to take revenge.  Since it was unguarded, they simply captured everyone, and burned it.  No one died.  That's what David came home to; burnt houses and missing families.

The six hundred and David wept.  They responded in frustration, but weeping until they had no strength.  These are tough guys, but emotional.  They feel sadness and they cry.  But this isn't 'skinned-knee' crying.  This is 'loss-of-life' crying; deep emotional grief.  They grieve, a lost art among modern men.

Once done grieving (or as part of it, if you think of grief as a process), they speak of stoning David to death.  Life is bad, let's kill the leader.  It's not that unusual with men who are described from the beginning as "bitter of soul" that when their circumstances are no longer in their favor, they blame others.  On the other hand, they may have realized that those who raided them were the ones whom they had plundered, leaving no witnesses (1 Samuel 27:8-9).  This is what they had done to others, and David had led them to do it.

But David had lost as well.  He wept as they did.  His house was in ashes as was theirs.  Yet when they spoke of stoning him, he 'strengthened himself in the LORD his God.'  In his circumstances, very similar to theirs, he found strength in the One who led him rather than blaming the One who led him. 

Consider that David led men who were of low character, but remained of good character.  That is not easy.  Among such warriors as history records following David; he leads them, they follow, they may think of killing him, but instead follow him once again into battle.  What sort of bearing and fiber makes up someone like that?

When I think of my circumstances, and how often I have caved to feelings of self-pity, I'm ashamed.  I don't demonstrate that sort of bearing and character that other men would follow into battle.  They'd be too afraid I'd fail and run and hide.  That's a valid fear if all I show them is that I'm interested in only my own wants and desires.  What I need to demonstrate is that I'm sold out faithful to my Master.  I need the courage that comes from character that comes from being faithfully in the presence of the King of Kings.

My circumstances are great.  My house isn't burned with fire, my enemies haven't heaped on me the ignominy I heaped on them, and my family is present and accounted for.  Here I am before dawn typing away on a blog about my Master without fear of being hauled off and jailed.  I'm blessed really.  So, why in the good circumstances do I find it so difficult to be selfless; to think of my wife and daughter before myself, to consider my fellow believers before my self, to think of those who work with me in ministry before myself?

I have neighbors around me hell-bound on a super highway at top speed.  Am I doing anything to wave them off?  Am I trying to get their attention?  This isn't watching a train-wreck, this is simply coming along side someone.  Am I willing to strengthen myself in the LORD my God and get back into the fight?  There are doors of hell waiting for my foot to kick them in all around me.  Behind them are captives ignorant to their danger, and without hope in the darkness.  I hold a light.  Why do I hide it?

Time to take down some strongholds, starting with those I've let the enemy build in my own life.  The lives of those living around me depend on it; and so does my family.  Time to suit up, let me grab this sword sitting over here; and a sledge hammer, a good 5-pounder should do it!  Pay no attention to the sound of crushing concrete, it's just those wicked strongholds coming down.  Be just a second...

Which Witch?

Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists.  So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in Gilboa.  When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.  When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets.  Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor." (1 Samuel 28:3-7 NASB)

One of the elements to Scripture few people dispute is the prohibition against communing with the dead or other form of 'fortunetelling'.  So, seances, tarot cards, rolling bones, scrying, and other forms of 'divination' are unequivocally prohibited in Scripture.

 In modern Christian circles, this has led some believers to then discount such things as faked by those who claim to practice them.  For those, this passage poses a whole lot of problems. For some believers, those things are believed to be real, but also real dangerous; the realm of demons.  For those, this passage poses a whole lot of problems.  There's no real way to look at this passage comfortably.

A few things to point out leading up to this event: 1) Saul has tried, as a righteous king, to empty the land of those who practice divination through communing with the dead.  2) His attempt failed (like his righteousness).  3) Everyone but he knew it.  4) Saul knows the 'terminology' enough to suggest his familiarity with such practices.  So, the popular practice was to permit their existence; but to keep them secret from the king.  The people used and seem to rely on such people.  And Saul seems to be from such a background.

I think of the setting something like today, where there is commonly found a 'horoscope' in any newspaper, along with a 'religion section'.  So everyone knows where they are.  The signs in every major city and many small towns advertising a 'fortune teller' are another indicator.  They're everywhere, and seem to be popular enough to remain in business.  That is the sort of setting I imagine except that in this context, there are no papers, no road signs, and these people are illegal, so underground.  Somewhat like 'drug dealers' everyone knows, but no one talks about; popular enough to remain in 'business' but no one knows with whom.

At this time Saul is in a dangerous place.  He is facing all the Philistines once again (he did this before in 1 Samuel 14), and he has tried to get a word from God about what to do.  He tries by dreams, prophets, and the 'Urim' of the priests.  Nothing works.  This is not like he can't figure out what God is saying, this is silence.  He's afraid.  So, he asks about not just a medium, but a leader-woman of mediums, sort of a 'super-spirit-channel-surfing-chic'.  And his servants, the ones supposedly responsible for carrying out the kings mandate against such people, know exactly where to find one close by.  This story keeps escalating the weirdness.

Saul disguises himself and goes, meets the nameless 'super-spirit-channel-surfing-chic', and has her call up Samuel.  Now, a couple of things are troubling here.  First, Samuel dies in right relation with God, so I would think that he would be found in God's presence.  If I'm right, then, for him to appear, he would need to appear from God's presence.  So how can one practicing what is prohibited by God successfully pull someone from His presence?  But wait, there's more!

Samuel speaks, and isn't happy to be 'disturbed'.  He then tells Saul what he least wanted to hear, "You're going to die"; but Samuel tells him like this, "...tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me."  I take that to mean that where Samuel is, so they will also be, in the presence of God.  For Saul, with his 'rejection' by God, I thought that unlikely; perhaps rejected from being king, but not as one of God's people.  Even so, Samuel is, through this process prohibited by God, performing what God would not do Himself (and therefore didn't want to happen?).  How is that possible?

I don't know.  Seriously, I don't think anyone looking at this from a 21st Century perspective knows.  Unless we develop time travel and can go back and actually witness this event, we have no real hope of understanding, and even then understanding wouldn't be assured.  So no one knows, but I wonder if one of these possibilities exist:

1. All dead before Jesus' life went to Sheol regardless of their relationship with God, without separation from each other and there was no 'presence of God' as we think of it, after death.  A problem with this is that there was in vogue at the time of Jesus' earthly ministry a concept of 'Paradise' and the 'Bosom of Abraham' to describe the afterlife of the righteous as separate from the 'unrighteous', and Jesus does not correct these beliefs. Actually He uses them in His ministry, parables, and even mentions paradise on the cross.  So some sort of division between the righteous and unrighteous seems to have existed even before Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
2. God prohibits any method of determining the 'future' or direction for events that does not derive from Him; but other methods do exist and exist powerfully.  Let's assume that they only exist in the purview of the demonic which would put them squarely in the realm of God's enemy, the devil, Satan.  If they are not of God, and yet powerful, then that is the most reasonable place to put them.  The problem here is that if there is a separation between the righteous and unrighteous, then how can Satan's power extend to the side of the righteous dead?  I would suspect that the only way this could truly happen is if the separation was collectively not in the presence or before the Throne of God; separated from each other, but still not in the presence of God (although, really, what's not truly in His presence?).  But that's not an adequate answer.  If this practice is of Satan, then how can Samuel be 'pulled up' without God's permission?  And if God permits it, why would He now give an answer to Saul and validate such a method at the same time?  Regardless who you read or what they claim, the answer is not obvious, nor easy.
3. God prohibits such practices, and they do not 'work' not really.  They are false methods of seeking knowledge that only belongs to God.  What the witch of En-Dor actually did wasn't supposed to work, and it surprised her when it did (which is why she screamed when Samuel pops up).  Unfortunately, this is very unlikely when the Scripture is taken at face value.  When the witch screams, she cries out that it's really Saul, the one she just said wanted to take her life.  It doesn't seem to be Samuel she's afraid of, but the knowledge that Saul is trapping her; knowledge gained in the process she is using to 'cause' Samuel to ascend.  This process really is 'bringing' Samuel up, in other words, what's she doing is causing it to happen.  Sorry, but that's how the text is written.  So, while God may be permitting this to happen, it's happening from what the witch is doing. 

There are more options, flavors of what I have here, but even these are closely related, so how many options are there really?  Not a lot.  With the discomfort caused by incompatible theological views crammed into a framework based on belief in the infallible inspiration of Scripture, I am left carrying that 'discomfort' into my application.  So here it goes:

My 'takeaway' from this encounter with the witch of En-Dor is that the kingdom of Satan is real and powerful.  Therefore my response to its existence is one of aggressive tactics.  I must be sensitive to my Master's Spirit's leading and guiding, attacking where He directs, being defensive where He places me, and always assured of victory.  I cannot be assured that this kingdom will fall on its own, without intervention.  People will be deceived by this power.

The reality I'm left with is that my Master views this other kingdom as usurping what is rightfully His, and therefore is to be destroyed.  I am His servant, His knight, and His to use in His destruction of the rival kingdom.  But I am under no illusion that this kingdom is 'figurative' or 'imaginary'.  The enemy is real and possesses real power.  Therefore I must stand in the power of my Master, wearing His armor, using His sword, and totally dependent upon His Spirit.  It's time to suit up!

Why Even Go There?

Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time."  But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?" (1 Samuel 26:8-9 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. (1 Samuel 26:12 NASB)

This is somewhat a repeat of chapter 24 where Saul goes t relieve himself in a cave and David and his men do not take the opportunity to kill the crazed king.  Here the setting is out in the open, Saul asleep in the middle of his 3,000 men with Abner, his general, at his side.  It sounds fairly safe.

David and Abishai simply sneak right into the ring of soldiers, and right up to the sleeping king.  The immediate question is how were they able to do that?  The answer is provided on their way out when the writer tells us at that point (guessing it was on everyone's mind) that God had put everyone under a sleep, a sleep of the LORD.

In a very real sense, the writer here acknowledges that Abishai was right; "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand," just as Abishai said.  David just didn't do with the opportunity what Abishai expected.  Why put David in that position at all?  Why sneak down into the camp?  Why even be there?

We're taught, and continue to teach young people to 'flee' sin, not to put themselves in tempting situations.  It makes sense, and is good advice.  I think we should continue to do so.  My confusion here is why my Master doesn't agree with my assessment when it concerns His man David.  Here, my Master seems to encourage David to come right in and be tempted by the sleeping king.

James tells us in 1:13, that God is not tempted, nor does He tempt anyone.  Yet here, it would seem He didn't prevent it either, in fact, a case could be made that He enabled it, and therefore not only encouraged it, but is actually responsible for the temptation (okay, not a great case, but good enough for the US court system).  David wants to sneak into the camp, Abishai goes with him, and God makes it possible.

I know, and I strongly believe in the quality of my Master that He knows everything without respect to time.  So, past, present, future all appear to Him as the same.  So, for Him to permit David to sneak into the camp isn't a problem since He knows David won't kill Saul.  But let's put this where it really belongs: in the category with all the other things my Master asks of me that seem silly if He knows the past, present, and future.  For instance, why pray if He already knows what He will do, how, with/through whom, and the eventual outcome?  What exactly would I be praying for?  Why send me into ministry?  Why have me train for 10 years after leaving the Army only spend 18 months or so actually on the field after finishing?  If He knew what would happen, why would He do that?

So, why permit David to go into the camp?  What is the point of having David stand over the sleeping king, and not kill him?  Is it a point to be made with David, with Abishai, with Saul?  Perhaps this is where the inspired words cannot fail in their purpose; a purpose somewhat different with each person involved, David, Abishai, Saul, and whoever reads them.

My point is this; not everything my Master permits me to do, enables me to encounter, or directs me into is a mandate to a particular action.  Submission to my Master does not mean taking every action provided by each opportunity He provides.  This is a problem for me precisely because I have contented myself that if He permitted it, seemed to be orchestrating it, then it must be His will.  So, try something; if it works, if He makes the details come together, if He seems to enable its completion, then it must have been His will.  Wrong!

If you're wondering, this is where the answer to my previous question about prayer fits.  But it's only half the answer to the problem.  The importance of prayer isn't to change events or my Master, but rather to enable me to be changed by Him.  Only then can these sorts of 'opportunities' be sorted out correctly; only when I have spent so much time with Him that I know His will.  It seems so 'iffy', so nebulous and dangerous, lacking the firm soundness of irrefutable proof that I know His will.  It is much like swimming through cloudy water, or seems so before I actually swim through it.  The other half of the answer will provide the 'goggles' for swimming. 

The second piece is Bible study.  Without it, prayer is directionless.  The Bible contains the record of my Master's work among people He chose.  From it can be discerned His character, His purpose, His methods, and His mind.  This is so because He has revealed those things through the inspired words.  So prayer and Bible study make up the process through which opportunities can be judged to be within or outside the will of my Master.  I need both.  Otherwise my prayer isn't intimate, it's selfish.  Otherwise my study is impersonal and sterile.  I fail without both.  Which I believe is also part of His purpose.

Hurrying A Gift?

"Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him."  Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. (1 Samuel 25:17-18 NASB)

We see Abigail in three 'scenes' in this story, and in each of the three (with her servants, meeting David in the desert, and with David's servants to become his wife) Abigail is in a hurry.  Here, she's in a hurry to get together a 'gift' to propitiate David.  Yet, when considering he has 600 men in his troop, the gift seems somewhat inadequate.  On a day when the wealth of Nabal is gathered, thousands of sheep, she takes 5.  There is also 2 jugs of wine, 200 loaves of bread and grain and raisins.  Still, not even the 400 with David would really find the gift enough to make their trip worth it.

As I read this account, I think the size of the gift is partly explained in the first statement made about Abigail in verse 18: 'Then Abigail hurried...'  I think the answer lies there, or at least the clue as why it wasn't bigger; she was in a hurry to put it together.  So, she found what was at hand for the shearing feast of her husband and household, took some of what was there, and sets off on her donkey.

What is also interesting is that she has this gift ahead of her as she reaches David.  So the first he hears of her is her servants arriving with a gift, and then she 'rounds the mountain' and rushes to fall at his feet.  I wonder, if looking at the little provided, he is still upset at first, or even more so.  The rest of what it took to calm David down may have been supplied by the presence of the lady herself.  Her demeanor is humble, her words wise and godly, and she has been described as 'beautiful of form'; in short, she is impressive, leaving an indelible mark on the warrior.

The result is that this gift, perhaps enough for those watching the bags, is sufficient to appease David; at least the gift along with the lady herself is sufficient.  David returns and waits, and God addresses his 'adversary' in a very permanent manner.  I thought it was interesting how Abigail introduces to Nabal what she did; and while his response is cryptic (was he afraid, shocked at his loss, shocked at his wife, or what?), I wonder if she knew what it would be.  There isn't much mourning for the husband, she and David are wed in what reads as a very short time.  Once again, she hurries to David.

So, what's the lesson?  I think the lesson here is about character.  The personal qualities of Abigail made up for what she was unable to bring or add to the gift.  So, it was less about her material resources and more about her personal resources that saved her household.  The point?  Material substance is less important than personality substance.

So, I learn from this that, as I approach my job, my family, friends, church, and so on; what I carry in my heart far outweighs what I carry in my pockets.  What is in my words is more important than what is in my bank account, or my home, my garage, or other form of storage.  It's not the gift I give, but the attitude, words, and actions I take that make a positive indelible mark; if I make one at all.

Therefore, my daughter doesn't need more stuff from me, she needs my time, attention, and love.  My wife doesn't need a bauble, but my gaze, my devotion, and my appreciation.  My friends need my listening ear, my church needs my family's committed involvement, and my Master needs all of me.  At that point, being a good employee will be easy.  So, there it is; problem solved, lesson learned, ready to move on...oh wait.  I almost forgot; I need to now practice.  Ah, I thought I was missing something.

Protection From Myself?

"Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal." (1 Samuel 25:26 NASB)

Commentators make much of how God protected David from the sin of killing innocents in revenge for Nabal's insult.  I wonder about that though.  If it were such a huge issue, like something that might prevent or divert his ascending the throne, why does everyone else assume he's going to do it?

What I mean is, if this were such a terrible thing, and something detrimental to his future as king, then why is the assumption of the servant who tells Abigail, and the assumption of Abigail (the wise wife) that David will do exactly that?  In verse 26, Abigail does say that God has kept David from shedding innocent blood, but is that what's going on, or is it part of her negotiation for the life of her household?

I suppose what I'm getting at is the rest of the content of her plea is clearly made up of placating David's wrath: speaks well of him personally, provides a gift for his men, bows before him, and so on.  She speaks of his role before God among the people, but is that 'political' and 'prophetic' or simply an observation of recent events?

I suspect that, while God did act providentially to keep David from wiping out an entire household, I don't think that was the point here.  Perhaps Uriah would later take issue with such a view, asking why God didn't act 'providentially' in his case.  The understanding was that Nabal's actions in response to David would bring about the destruction of his household.  That Nabal didn't get that only reinforces his foolishness.

On the other hand, Nabal is in common company with the Ziphites, the people of Keilah, and others of the Judean countryside who are ready and willing to hand David over to Saul.  Yet, it seems Saul is not so quick to enter Judah to protect such people (as in the case of Keilah).  So, the loyalty seems more to do with fear of what happened at Nob than a character assessment between the two camps of Saul and David.  That being said, Nabal seems to have missed the point of that lesson if he thought Saul would protect him, again playing a fool.

It may be just me, but I think that the point of this story is that there is room for the vengeance of God.  It's not so much that David's vengeance was a moral problem, but that it was unnecessary.  David didn't raise his sword against Saul because that demonstrated to his men that no one raises there hand against the anointed of the Lord.  This Nabal is not an anointed one of the Lord; him David could kill.  This is not the same circumstance as the previous chapter.

But even when 'justified' or perhaps culturally accepted, sometimes my actions can be outside of my Master's plan.  When He intercedes for me, then He again takes center stage, and I fade to the background.  This is as it should be.  So, not everything I can do, should be done.  I think I needed this lesson last week.

I responded harshly to a co-worker last week.  Regardless of whether I had ample reason to be provoked, I allowed myself to act on my behalf, and I think I failed to leave room for my Master to act.  Sometimes I think there is a place to respond to slights and insults, but probably not to defend myself. 

I allowed the frustration I had let build concerning my work with a customer bubble to the top and pour out in my response to her.  I felt hurt and disrespected, relegated to the position of servant.  But isn't that what I am?  Am I not a servant of the King?  I felt the work I did was important, and warranted respect from my peers, and perhaps, in my culture I'm right.  But in the eyes of my King, my work is in His service, for His purpose, and for His pleasure, not my own gratification.  I was about me, not Him.  I lived instead of died, and lost an important opportunity to serve in humility rather than lash out in pride.

I don't want to give the impression that I believe my Master wishes me to be a doormat for the rest of the world.  On the other hand, the strength showed by my Master as He served was not in his ability to thwart insults, but in His ability to withstand them.  It was my Master Who used the insults of others, their persecution of Him, their lack of understanding and acceptance of Him to save all of humanity.  Now that is a reversal, and one from which I did not learn.  There was a better response, a response of humility, and one demonstrating the character of my Master rather than my damaged pride.  I missed that one.

So, the lesson I learn is to die to self, to accept the role of servant, and to permit my Master His place of center stage, where He belongs.  I can apologize, but I would rather respond initially in a way that needs no apology.  I need to stop having a 'crow lunch' and start serving others.  This, like other entries, is about submission, obedience, and acceptance of the position in which I have been placed by my Master.  Again...am I a slow learner or what?  So, die already...what the heck?  I want to live a resurrected life, not some sort of zombie version of my sinful past.  What an idiot.

Facing The Ground, Addressing The King

So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed."  David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.  Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. (1 Samuel 24:6-8 NASB)

 One of the qualities of David that shines through regardless of where he is or what he's doing is respect for others.  He doesn't just respect elders, but he respects other people.  He is the true warrior, defeating the foes of the people of God wherever he goes.  Yet he is also kind.  He doesn't have to be.  He is talented, gifted, very bright, and does not loose battles.  But people follow him, do what he says, go where he goes, and fight dangerous foes for him.

Consider the quality of a man who, between two audiences, bows himself before his mortal enemy because that person is the anointed king.  Those before him see that he is not what they feared.  Those behind see that he is more than what they imagined.  The 3,000 young men with Saul probably knew nothing of what David was really like, only what they had heard.  The 600 behind him in the cave knew only what they had seen as he led them through the desert running from Saul.  Now both see an expected quality.

Can I display that quality, have it as my own?  What would it take; to be able to show respect for people regardless of what they have done to me?  First, I can only assume that it would take the ability to forgive.  That is one of the most powerful actions any person can take.  Second, it would probably take honest assessment of myself before my Master.  That is one of the most powerful visions any person can have.

Seeing myself as my Master sees me is both humbling and empowering.  Spending some time in Ephesians 2 can greatly expand any understanding of who followers of my Master are.  The truth of who we are as opposed to what we look like is one of those things that, like the vastness of the universe, is hard to grasp.  And it's not just how my Master sees me, it is the truth about the core of my being.  I am not as described in Ephesians 2 because of something I did, or some quality I've always had but ignored.  On the contrary, the extreme contrary, the things I have done, still do, and will do in the future tarnish the view of who I am.

For I have been rescued from the enemy of humanity by the free gift of my Master, through faith in Him given to me by Him, so that I can see clearly that it is not a quality of my own, removing any boasting on my part, but also any responsibility.  And I have been rescued by the Great Artist as a masterpiece of His so that I might perform the actions on behalf of my Master which He prepared from ancient times for me to live out.  Long story short; I have been changed to my very core by my Master for His purpose in His world.

That's what's true, for me, as it was for David.  It's what enabled David to bow before the wildly insane king pursuing his life.  It's what enables me to respect the difficult customers, teammates, managers, friends, foes, and family around me.  The truth of who I am because of my Master takes away the need to protect myself, provide for myself, and attack to gain what I want.  Instead, I simply live out those activities which my Master prepared for me from the very beginning point of creation.

So, it's not my plan, even my good and wise ones; not my ability, though I may be very capable; not my wisdom, though I may be wiser than some.  Instead my life is truly about the plans of my Master, His abilities, and His wisdom.  And this is true even when I don't act like it.  Again, I have been rescued by grace.  I am who I am, even if I sometimes forget.

What's With The 'Wing'?

The men of David said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly.  It came about afterward that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe.  So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed."  David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. (1 Samuel 24:4-7 NASB)

I'm trying to imagine how this event went down, and I'm struggling with it.  So, Saul saunters (or more likely moves with swift intention) alone into this cave.  Coming from light to dark, his eyes can't see the extent of the cave recesses.  And then, a safe distance into the cave, perhaps to one side, he 'covers his feet' (a Hebrew euphemism for 'cop a squat').  Unbeknownst to him, in those dark recesses he couldn't see upon entering, are hidden his quarry, David and his men.  That's the setup for the verses above.

So here are the places I struggle. 1) Caves echo, and unless there are a lot of deadening sorts of plants or something, dirt on the floor, what have you; you shouldn't be able to whisper without Saul hearing something. 2) How did David get so close to cut and cut quietly?  I'm guessing he didn't whip out his handy orange-handled Fiskers and silently snip, he had to use a knife.  Either that sucker was SHARP, or he spent some time and effort at it.  How did that happen without Saul noticing something in this cave? 3) Why the robe?  If he's following the advice of his men, what's with the piece of robe?  Was that the sign to his men to go ahead and take out their adversary; the first blow?  Next, off comes his head?

I don't think anyone really knows the answers to these questions; partly since the cave in this region (there are hundreds at least) in which this happens is not even known.  So I have only theories (go figure - you knew it had to be). 

I suspect it went down something like this:

• This cave is HUGE, enough to fit 600 or more fairly comfortably, and David's sentry gave plenty of warning that Saul's 3,000 were coming up the canyon (or wadi as they are called there).  
• I suspect sand storms over the last thousands of years or so had deposited plenty of sand near the entrance, with less as you go deeper in the cave (I've never actually been to Israel, so I'm really just guessing), which would deaden sound nearer the cave, not so much deeper in.  
• When David's men realize it's Saul (their eyes are adjusted to the dark, and Saul's aren't), they figure now's the time God provided to take out Saul and end this.  
• I can only imagine that Saul has constipation, so, therefore really taking his time and working fairly hard at what he's doing; therefore hears nothing as he is very preoccupied.
• Because what he going to be doing is usually 'messy' Saul lays his outer garment aside as he approaches the place he picks to 'take care of business'.  I would think, again as I imagine it, this would be somewhere between the squatting and grunting Saul and the door, and therefore the only light source in the cave, and a place of more 'sand'.
• David approaches very carefully, his men watching and ready.  Saul doesn't notice a sound in the sand behind him (if he's facing the cave wall or something - tactically stupid, but I suppose possible).  Saul doesn't notice a shadow passing on the wall around him as David passes between the light of the cave entrance and himself (again tactically stupid, but again, I suppose possible).  David chooses the robe over Saul himself and cuts off a piece.  Saul doesn't hear this either because he's working so hard, and/or because David is so quiet.
• As David cuts the piece of robe, something flashes through is mind.  He sees Saul, the mighty king of Israel squatting helpless over his heels working away, and realizes that this could just as easily be him.  What if one of his men wanted to be the next king?  How hard would this be?  After all, he's setting a precedent here.  His conscience attacks him (or in Hebrew, 'his heart caused him to be struck').
• David changes what he's done into a teachable moment.  Rather than signal his men with the robe to take out their adversary, he sneaks back to them past the squatting sweating king.  And he says, to them, "God forbid (and by that he means 'God do to me if I do to him') that I stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed."  David realizes that as insane as Saul may be, he and David both are anointed of the Lord.  So David takes this time to teach his men a very important thing for them to know (for his own protection): You don't presume to strike down those anointed from God.

I don't know if you thought it through or read it through, but this lesson David teaches his men is done so well, and so powerfully, that in the Kingdom of Judah, David's line has almost no assassinations, maybe three or four incidents (one at least has a lot of people dying, but is a single incident).  Not all his offspring die of natural causes, but very few die at the hand of a usurper.  On the other hand, in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, it happens all the time.  Dynasty's are rare up there in Samaria, and that kingdom lasts much less time than David's line ruling in Judah (like 300 years less!).

I'm sure that my 'imagination' of how the events in the cave went down deviate from what really happened significantly, but the overall sense of what happened is probably close.  The lesson is unmistakeable.  While I'm not sure what the point of cutting off the robe as opposed as stabbing the squatting king actually was, the point David makes is genius, probably inspired.  David's opportunity to teach his men not to strike one anointed of God had to be a divinely created opportunity, one he didn't pass up.  But what is my lesson, my take away here?  What point can I learn from the piece of robe rather than a life?

Paul already points our that our spiritual warfare is not against people but against the 'spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly realms' (Ephesians 6:12).  So I see that lesson here, that David sees that his foe is not really Saul, but those evil things oppressing Saul.  Seeing that I suspect David is able to see himself in Saul's sandals/shoes, perhaps even his predicament (caught with his robe around his ankles).  He did not see a helpless foe as an opportunity.  That is probably the biggest thing.  In a sense, those evil things oppressing Saul were now tempting David to take the life of their pawn, and therefore his place as their human puppet (okay, I'm probably over the top in reading into this). 

The lesson my Master is teaching me is probably more that the opportunities He provides I should be taking.  So, when I come home, and see that neighbor out in the street with his kids, I should take that opportunity to engage in a 'Kingdom conversation'.  When I'm in line at Walmart for an hour or so because there's only one line open for all 20,000 people in my city congregated in the store at the same time (why do they do that? Both, my town and the store), then I should take the opportunity for a 'Kingdom conversation'. 

There are opportunities all around me to engage the enemy of my Master, and bring in the light of my Master's Kingdom into the dark strongholds, offer release to captives, and plunder the camps of the Devil.  And he knows it.  So those opportunities are also to draw fire, flaming arrows requiring faith, chest shots requiring righteousness, head shots requiring salvation, and having the equipment handy provided by truth.  The sword I borrow from the Spirit of my Master divides soul and spirit, joints and morrow; what could be a more effective weapon than that?  Why, if I'm so well equipped, do I not take these afforded opportunities?

So, my challenge is to put it on, take it up, go forth, stand, pray, and engage.  If the gates of hell cannot stand against the called out ones of my Master, why aren't I kicking them in?  It's time.  "Let's roll!"