Love Your Enemies

(1 Samuel 24:1-22)

Yearly Theme:  “Goodness is… Genuine”

Series Title:  “Giant Slayer:  A Man After GOD’s Own Heart”

April 21^st, 2024

Something to think about:

As we continue our series on David in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel today, we come upon a scene when tensions have run so high between King Saul and David that David is now on the run from Saul in the wilderness region of Engedi near the Dead Sea.  Hiding out in caves with a few of his loyal men, David is trying to escape the wrath of Saul who seeks to kill him in a jealous fit of rage.  Saul sees David as a threat, and thus, an enemy, and pursues to eliminate him and any chance he might have at taking the throne of Israel away from him or his own family.  David, however, wishes Saul no harm.  Though Saul has become an enemy, David does not desire to lay a hand on him but instead trusts in GOD for his future.  But what is David to do, when an opportunity arises that seems straight from GOD to take Saul out?  Let’s read and find out…

Turn in your Bible to:  1 Samuel 24:1-22

Rather than vengeance and retaliation, David trusts in the LORD and His timing, and is unwilling to take matters into his own hands with regard to dealing with King Saul.  David reveres GOD and the King enough to not lay a hand on one whom GOD has originally chosen to be the King of Israel, and thus, mercy is the only option David knows to extend to his enemy, Saul.

Key Point:  “Mercy comes from a heart of goodness.”

What can we learn from David’s chance meeting with Saul in the cave at Engedi?  Let’s break it down:

• Not everyone who  us has the  of GOD.

1 Samuel 24:4 (NLT),   “Now’s your opportunity!”  David’s men whispered to him.  “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’  ” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.

• Just because circumstances seem to align “ ” doesn’t mean they are a part of GOD’s  .

1 Samuel 24:4 (NLT),   “Now’s your opportunity!”  David’s men whispered to him.  “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’  ” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.

• When we act righteously toward our  , they take  .

1 Samuel 24:16-19 (NLT),  ¹⁶ When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?”  Then he began to cry.  ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.  ¹⁸ Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it.  ¹⁹ Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power?  May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today.

Something to take home:

In the book entitled Context, Mary Marty retells a parable from the “Eye of the Needle” newsletter.  She writes,

“A holy man was engaged in his morning meditation under a tree whose roots stretched out over the riverbank.  During his meditation, he noticed that the river was rising, and a scorpion caught in the roots was about to drown.  He crawled out on the roots and reached down to free the scorpion, but every time he did so, the scorpion struck back at him.  An observer came along and said to the holy man, ‘Don't you know that's a scorpion, and it's in the nature of a scorpion to want to sting?’  To which the holy man replied, ‘That may well be, but it is my nature to save, and must I change my nature because the scorpion does not change its nature?’”[1]  

You may not be able to change the nature of your enemy, but you sure can surrender your nature to an all-loving GOD who for our sakes, even while we were His enemies, laid down His life so that we could be saved.[2]  Once we realize how much grace and mercy we’ve been given, how much more should we also be willing to give grace and mercy to others, even our enemies?  This is the very nature of GOD, and should be the nature of every believer in Christ.  The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, lays it out plainly for us:

Romans 5:6-8 (NLT),  ⁶  When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  ⁷  Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  ⁸  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Key Point:  “Mercy comes from a heart of goodness.”

[1] Joseph B. Modica.

[2] Romans 5:10.