Don't Take Your Life Into Your Own Hands

I know that you are stunned (all three of you) to see a Holding Fast either on this illustious blog page or in your inbox. Well, here 'tis. Sorry for my laziness in posting. Spring is crazy and crazier, and things have slowed down a bit, allowing me to squeeze in time to jot down some devotional words. As well, you need to know this about me- I am not a very fast writer. I always have a lot I think I want to say, but struggle greatly in the saying of it. Many, many a post have begun, and still sit in the cyber dustbin of My Documents.

I'd like to veer a way from Ephesians and look at a passage from my daily Scripture reading. Last night I read 1 Samuel 24-25, the familiar story of David sparing King Saul's life. If you haven't read it, or don't remember it- please read it now.

David is a rising star in Israel and has also been anointed by Samuel to be the 'true' King of Israel after Saul spared Agag, king of the Amalekites and kept the plunder for himself. Saul is seething with jealous rage toward David, seeking to capture and kill him at every turn. Remember the songs that echoed through Israel, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands" ? (1 Sam. 21:11) David and his men are on the run throughout the wilderness around Judah, hiding out in the caves. In our passage here, the outlaw band is in the wilderness of Engedi ('spring of the kid', thus the reference to 'wildgoat's rocks' in 24:2), deep within the caves while Saul and his 3000 warriors encamp outside waiting to strike. We can assume that perhaps a spy caught sight of King Saul in a vulnerable spot 'relieving himself' (Heb. 'covering his feet' - a Hebraic euphemism, you know, 'seeing a man about a horse') alone, without his cohort. David is urged by his men to go in and kill the King of Israel, ending their miserable existence as outlaws in the desert and establishing their rule and authority in the land.

David does not kill Saul, instead he cuts a corner from the king's robe to reveal that he could have taken his life and yet spared him. David had the chance to take hold of his destiny, to take his life in his own hands: to kill an hostile enemy, to establish himself as King, to vindicate his name and reputation, to give himself to lead all his followers and admirers in Israel, to show his power and authority to his men, to enjoy the fruit of kingship-wealth, power, comfort, worldly success. David does not take his life into his own hands, but rather continues to entrust his life to God and honor the king. Why? There are a few reasons laid out for us in 24:6-22.

1. David had a tender conscience. We read in verse 5, "afterward, David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe." The NIV says that David was 'conscience stricken', the NAS says that David's heart 'bothered him', and the King James translates it, "David's heart smote him". I find this point especially interesting because there is a real sense in which David had a right to strike Saul down. We remember that earlier, because of Saul's sin and wickedness, God had rejected him as king. David has already been anointed by Samuel to rule over Israel. Saul is certainly in the wrong in doggedly pursuing David and seeking to kill him. David says to his men in verse 6, "the Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed..." Yet, the anointing was taken away from Saul and placed upon David! What do we learn from this?

Whether or not David had the right or the freedom to strike Saul down is not the issue. David's conscience would not let him. God speaks and testifies to us not only through his word, through the counsel of others, but also through our conscience. Paul says in Acts 24:16, "I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man." In Romans 2:15 we read that the law is written upon our hearts, and our conscience bears witness to it. In speaking about issues of Christian liberty to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 8,10), Paul strongly admonishes them to heed their own consciences and the conscience of others in how they act and in the manner in which they live. John Gill, the great baptist theologian, defines consience in this way:

"It is a power or faculty of the rational soul of man; by which it knows its own actions, and judges of them according to the light it has: some take it to be an habit of the mind; others an act of the practical judgment, flowing from the faculty of the understanding by the force of some certain habit."

Whether or not we feel David would be justified in striking Saul down, David's conscience was denied him this liberty and he could not act against the internal witness God had given him. When we ignore this internal voice, Paul says we become cauterized, seared, unfeeling and hard hearted. In this light, Paul exhorts Timothy to 'hold on to the faith and a good conscience' (1 Timothy 1:19).

2. We find in David's actions a commitment to obeying God above one's personal sense of justice, the need for retribution, and a claim to rights or power. Jesus commends much the same thing in the sermon on the mount, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake...do not resist the one who is evil but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." The Apostle Paul tells us to "bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse...repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all...never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God..." (Romans 12:14ff.) David was not enslaved to his own personal desires for retaliation. David was not cheifly concerned with his reputation. David was not primarily concerned with the judgments of others. God is the sovereign judge of all, and David serves His God first and foremost.

Let's say you have been hurt by someone, maligned, impugned, whatever. Your reputation is at stake, your sense of justice breached, and the wisdom of the world is on your side. Do you assert your rights? Do you assert your power and vindicate yourself and every possible turn? The Scriptures don't call us to be doormats, this is not the lesson. The lesson is, though, that our actions are not in accordance with human perception, along the lines of worldly wisdom, or the sake of personal vindication. We don't serve man, we don't serve self- we serve God and seek to please him in all things. We also recognize that in the final analysis, the sovereign God will judge rightly and we can rest in his ultimate power. As we display this trust in his hand, as we show grace to others in such a trust- we are unveiling the real source of our hope and our life

3. Take note of how David deals with others. When others are calling him to act against his conscience, he opposes them. He does not cave in to the pressures of his men. In refusing to kill Saul, he was refusing them safety, the comforts of home, and insuring that they would be spending more nights in some God forsaken caves. In refusing to heed their advice, to ignore their urgent designs for his future- he was risking the threat of mutiny and rebellion to his ever lengthening list of problems. Nonetheless, he stood down his men, and refused to capitulate to the pressures of the flesh and the world. I think of Paul’s words to the Galatians as he stood down the Judaizers and rebuked Peter for caving to their legalistic demands and perversion of the gospel, “Am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

We also see David choose to take the high road with Saul, appealing to the conscience of the King and pleading for justice and grace. David does not taunt the King or mock him. Rather, he honors Saul, even in the face of Saul’s wicked designs to take his own life. Again David is entrusting his life and future not to Saul, but to God who establishes Kings and takes them off their throne. David understands that it is not his place to do God’s job for him. But he can honestly and transparently appeal to his King. Sometimes I think we plot and connive, speaking and manipulating in secret, hoping we might secure victory for ourselves. It is God’s to secure victory, and it is ours to behave righteously.

Just a few lessons from the soon to be King of Israel. It is important to remember these three things as well, in conclusion:

1. David wasn’t always faithful, and was a great sinner. It is dangerous to turn all of this into mere moralism. David was a man after God’s own heart, which refers to a heart of repentance and faith, not perfection and human righteousness.
2. God didn’t resolve all of David’s problems immediately, not by a long shot. Saul continued in wickedness, David continued to wander in the wilderness, and God’s providence led him through a hard road of resolution to his ‘Saul problem’.
3. Ultimately, God judged rightly. The wicked faced judgment, the faithful were vindicated. This is the way of things, and the promise of the gospel is that by faith in Christ the wicked are made faithful, and in the righteousness of Christ the sinner will be vindicated before the holiness and justice of God. We are called to repent of our sin, and believe, entrusting ourselves to God through Christ.