1 Samuel 24:4-6 – The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.”
.
David was mistreated and abused by Saul in terrible ways. Throughout his life, all David had ever done toward Saul was to serve him faithfully. Saul, however, was jealous of David, spoke out against David, and even tried to hunt him down and kill him. Even as this account begins, we find David hiding in a cave with his men, seeking to get away from Saul and his men out to kill them all.
With the way that David had been treated, it is obvious why his men would have said to him what they said in the above verses. They found Saul in a vulnerable position, and they suggest to David that this is the way that God would deliver him from his enemy. David is tempted to listen to them, but in the end, he realizes that this is not the way to honor God.
In our own lives, there are going to be circumstances that are very difficult. Often we will be abused or hurt by others. In those instances, our friends and families may well offer to us solutions to our problems. Like David, we may even receive counsel from these people who claim to be thinking about our best interests and the Lord’s will. However, if we are not careful, like David, we may be tempted to reach out our hands and do what is dishonoring to God.
We should be careful to take steps to avoid doing what is against God’s will, even when it seems right. In order to do this, we must first be certain that we are committed to God’s word and God’s word alone as our standard for upright and Godly living. There is no room for us to bring in another book of ethics. God has revealed to us, in his word, everything that we need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). We must make God’s word our standard. We also must be careful not to surround ourselves with friends who do not hold God’s word as the only standard of truth, morality, and God’s will. David was surrounded by men who were not Godly, and it showed up in their counsel. We must not allow this to be the case in our own lives.
The fact is, the world’s solution can be very tempting. The voice of the flesh is very subtle. Our friends may even try to convince us that something is clearly “God’s will,” even though they have no desire to follow his will. We, however, have to stand firm. WE must never break God’s principles and standards, regardless of how tempting the situation makes it. We must never justify evil actions, regardless of how much our friends try to convince us it is OK. We must live by God’s word and for his glory forever.
Dear Lord, I come to you this morning, and I ask that you would protect me for the ungodly counsel of my own flesh and of people who do not have your word in their hearts. Help me, as David wrote, to hide your work in my heart that I might not sin against you. Teach me to rightly interpret your word and rightly discover your principles for every area of life. I am committed, by your grace, to live by your word and your word alone. I plead with you to help me to do this by your power and for your glory.
Pastor Travis Peterson 