God's Anointed

Focal Scripture: 1 Samuel 24

“Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 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.” 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,” 1 Samuel 24:12-16, NKJV.

Saul sought David’s life even though David had done no wrong to him. The Lord told David that He would deliver his enemy into his hands—and God did indeed deliver Saul into David’s hand. David could have taken Saul’s life (just as Saul had wanted to take from him), but David’s heart (smote) struck him unto compassion and mercy to not do so to Saul. Saul was God’s anointed. Although Saul had been consumed by jealousy (of David’s success on the battlefield) and had evil spirits come upon him, he was still chosen by God, at the peoples’ pleas, to be king.

“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,’” 1 Samuel 24:10.

God will bring justice. Even though some leaders may be acting outside of God’s will—let the Lord handle it. David let Saul go, but God’s word was still true. He still delivered Saul into his hand, but compassion overtook David—that God forbade him to take Saul’s life.

David was revealed to Saul. Upon realizing that it was indeed David who could have taken his life that very day, Saul wept saying that David was more righteous than him. “…for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil,” verse 17. This very act of compassion invoked humbleness in Saul for he also stated in verse 20, “And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.” This came after multiple times of Saul seeking to kill David because of God’s favor on David’s life.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[a] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” Matthew 5:44-45, NKJV.

Let us overcome evil with good.