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lessons from our escapes

1 Samuel 24:1-8 (JDV)

1 Samuel 24:1 When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “Notice, David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”
1 Samuel 24:2 So Saul took three thousand of Israel’s choice men and went to look for David and his men in front of the boulders of the Wild Goats.
1 Samuel 24:3 When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to cover his feet. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave,
1 Samuel 24:4 so they said to him, “Notice, this is the day Yahveh told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.'” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
1 Samuel 24:5 Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
1 Samuel 24:6 He said to his men, “I swear before Yahveh: I would never do such a thing to my lord, Yahveh’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is Yahveh’s anointed.”
1 Samuel 24:7 With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them revolt against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.
1 Samuel 24:8 After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David knelt low with his face to the ground and paid homage.

lessons from our escapes

Both David and Saul see narrow escapes in chapters 23-24. David escaped because he learned of Saul’s pursuit in time for he and his men to get out of his way. Saul escaped because David chose not to kill him, but to merely cut off a corner of his robe, to show him that he could have, but did not. Saul appears to have learned his lesson, but we have heard him repent before. What shines through most vividly in this story is the difference in character in these two men.

LORD, you have helped us escape many times from harm that was coming to us. May we learn the lessons meant for us.