I Samuel 24:4 …do to him as it shall seem good unto thee
Back in October some of us were at the Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana. It is a multi-day, multi-city, county-wide festival where trailers sell hot chocolate, chili, leather goods, and so on. My wife and I were sitting just off the town square in a little town when a lady walked by and something floated down from her person onto the ground. I very rapidly found that it was money. So, I quickly ran up, put it in my pocket, and said, “Wow, thank you, God, for sending money from Heaven.” No, that is not what I did! I jumped up and by the time I said, “Ma’am, you dropped some money,” there were several other people doing the same thing.
While most of us would probably not pocket money we see floating out of someone else’s pocket and claim it was God’s provision, a lot of times we just assume that any opportunity is given by God, that it is providence in some way, yet providence is subject to principle. In other words, how God gives is subject to who God is.
When you come to I Samuel 24, God seems to have provided for David in a marvelous way. King Saul was chasing David in order to kill him and David was hiding out in a cave. It just so happens that King Saul came into the cave somewhat alone. David’s men said to him, “Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.”
Had God said this? No! This was a paraphrase based on the fact that God had anointed David king of Israel, but there were people in David’s own camp who said this situation was from God, that God had given David a chance to kill Saul. God had done no such thing! Had God delivered Saul to David? Yes. Why? Was it to die? No, God did it in order to test David and to show Saul the truth. As to testing David, verse 5 says, “David’s heart smote him.” Here was a great opportunity, but it was not the right thing. In verse 20 Saul says to David, “Now…I know well that thou shalt surely be king.” It was a test for David and a revelation for Saul.
The bottom line is that faith is taking God on His own terms. So many times, we have opportunities that we assume are from God because they are beneficial to us. We might say, “God wants me to be happy.” I don’t think God wants you to be miserable, but do you think that the chief end of all the workings of the universe is to make you happy? I don’t think it is a virtue to be miserable, but just because something lands favorable to me does not mean it is providence from God. It may be a test from God.
Another way we might think is, “Well, I deserve this. People don’t know how good or patient I have been or the good things I have secretly done. I feel myself to be morally superior to others because they don’t know how good I am.” David could have said, “Hey, I’ve been anointed king. I am God’s chosen. Saul just happened into this cave and I just happen to have a chance to kill him. I deserve this opportunity.” It wasn’t an opportunity the way David saw it. It was a test.
Sometimes we invoke God. David’s men said, “This is the day that God told you about.” We might say, “I feel like God is leading me to do thus and so.” We should follow God’s leading, but often what we are doing is making a decision and then absolving ourselves from any criticism or questions by saying, “This is God’s leading,” when really it is about more money, security, or a better place to live. None of those are bad things, but none of those necessarily indicate God’s leading. God’s leading is subject to God’s principles. It is wrong to murder, and authority is to be respected. So, was this God’s providence for David? The opportunity was to provide a test, not a chance to murder someone.
Sometimes we don’t take God on His own terms because we say, “Someone said…This is the advice I have received.” David’s men urged him to kill Saul and Saul’s men said that David was a traitor. In verse 9 David says to Saul, “Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?” Both men had people whispering into their ears. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, “It is never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.” Most people don’t think three steps down the line. They are just thinking about the immediate benefit or difficulty of the decision they must make right now, but there may be cascading events five steps down the path. Having said that, sometimes people are too smart for their own good and say, “If I do this now, it will result ultimately in good.” But right is right and wrong is wrong. It is never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.
Ultimately, you cannot trust those who will not trust God. In verse 22 Saul basically says, “I know now that God has given you the kingdom. Blessed be you, David.” He says all sorts of good things about David, but the last verse says, “David and his men gat them up unto the hold.” David said, “Thank you very much, Saul,” but he went into hiding again. Why? It was because Saul was not to be trusted. It didn’t matter what he said. He was not taking God on His own terms. Saul was looking for opportunities to kill David just as David had a chance to kill Saul.
What would have happened if David had killed Saul? I don’t know, but it may not have been as clean and simple as David and his men thought. There was a narrow entrance into this cave and a large cavern inside. If he killed Saul, then what would he do? Either Saul’s soldiers would come looking for him and David would be pinned down, or David could walk out saying, “I have killed Saul” and everyone just says, “Oh, you are the new king!” The latter is highly doubtful, but even if that were the case it would not have been right. Sometimes we make things worse when we think we are making things better. How can we truly make things better? We need to take God on His own terms and trust Him to do what He alone can do.