“Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” And David called one of the young men and said, “Go, cut him down.” So he struck him and he died. David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” 2 Samuel 1:14-16
The Philistines attacked Israel. They closed in on Saul and killed his sons Jonathan, Abinidab, and Malchishua. Then the archers overtook Saul and wounded him badly. He groaned to his armor bearer, “Kill me with your sword before these heathen Philistines capture me and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid to, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon the point of the blade, and it pierced him through.
Meanwhile, David returned from killing the Amalekites, and stayed in Ziklag. He had not yet heard about the death of Saul. A man came from The battle where Saul was killed...came to David, and fell to the earth in respect. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.” David said to him, “How did it go? Please tell me.”He answered, “Saul and Jonathan are dead.” David asked“How do you know?” The young man said, “Saul was leaning on his spear; and called to me. He said Please kill me before the Philistines torture me. So I killed him.”
Apparently the young man was aware of the conflict between Saul and David because he gathered up Saul’s crown and arm band and brought them to David...no doubt hoping to ingratiate himself with the new king.
David and all the men mourned, wept, and fasted for Saul, and Jonathan his son. David’s response to the young man was unexpected. “Why did you kill God’s chosen king?” David demanded. He ordered one of his men to run him through with his sword and said “you die self-condemned, for you yourself confessed that you killed God’s appointed king.”
David had been running from Saul...for years. He’d had opportunities to kill Saul but demurred even though he knew God intended for him to replace Saul as king. He refused to take matters into his own hands even after Saul had become his bitter enemy. He refused to presume upon God. Not the response Saul’s killer expected. And it’s not as though David was reluctant to kill, as the young man quickly discovered.
Napoleon once said, in cavalier fashion, “if you want to make an omelette you have to break a few eggs.” He meant to justify the brutality of his military campaigns.
We live in a time when people demand justice for every perceived affront to their sensibilities. Hate speech, whatever that means, has become the unforgivable social sin. Retaliation comes in many forms...from violent assaults to de-platforming people from their social networks to Shut them up. We mean to justify our behavior by proclaiming our allegiance to social justice...however we define it.
We abuse the rights of some to assure the rights of others. It’s a dangerous way to live. What if our retaliation is against somebody God had commissioned to do precisely what we don’t like? How would we expect God to react?
Matthew 5:44 says “love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you.” It’s not the natural human response. It is, however, the safe response. It is the only way to ensure we aren’t presuming upon God’s intentions.
Some things are better left to God.
Live boldly out there today...
