Returning Good for Evil

Saul, hearing David’s voice coming out of the darkness, called out, “Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king” (1 Samuel 26:17).

David wanted to know why Saul pursued him without cause (v. 18) and offered two valid possibilities (v. 19), both without merit: “(1) If because of a sin on my part, ignorantly committed against you or against all Israel, over which you are the anointed king, God has impressed you to execute judgment against me, permit me to follow the instructions in the Torah and seek forgiveness in the divinely constituted manner (Lev. 4). (2) But if through vile, slanderous gossip, if through whispered calumnies, you have been urged to hunt me down as a rebel, feeling I am trying to usurp your place, the evidence at En-gedi and again here proves the falsity of such words and actions. Therefore those who are urging you on are cursed before God according to the regulations of the same Torah (Deut. 27:24–26), and you should not follow them, nor be guided by their counsel.” David had been driven from the land and from worshiping God with his family. He had been forced to hide out in desolate places and seek refuge among the enemies of Israel. He had committed no crime yet was being treated as a rebel.

“Saul found himself completely overcome for the moment when he saw that his life had once more been precious in the eyes of David. The magnanimity of this outlawed patriot forced from his lips several noteworthy confessions: (1) ‘I have sinned’ in secretly planning the death of a neighbor; (2) ‘I have played the fool’ in repeating my attempt to kill the one who has graciously spared my life; (3) I ‘have erred exceedingly’ in giving way to self-pity and the passion of the lower nature.” Saul invited David to return with him to Gibeah and pledged his protection. David instead wisely chose not to place himself in the hands of Saul.

Telling Saul to send a man over to reclaim the king’s spear, David again turned back into the wilderness with his men. “Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue” (Psalm 120:2).