Temptation or Opportunity?

Reflections on 1 Sam. 24:1-22

Saul immediately returned to his pursuit of David when he finished fighting the Philistines. By this time, David had moved about ten miles east of Ziph to Engedi, which was near the west shore of the Dead Sea. During the pursuit, David and his men hid in a cave. With Saul’s army outside, they were in grave danger if Saul had known where they were. But Saul did not know, so he went into a cave to relieve himself (the literal “cover his feet” in the KJV is a euphemism — see BDB, p. 696-97). Because Saul was alone, in the dark, and unprepared for defending himself, David’s men saw this as an opportunity sent by God for David to kill the unsuspecting Saul. David snuck up on Saul, but instead of killing him, cut off the corner of his outer garment.

REMORSE. An interesting aspect of this story is that David felt remorse even for cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe (1 Sam. 24:5). The reason David felt this remorse was because his action was disrespectful to the king. According to Num. 15:37-41, God instructed Israelites to wear blue tassels in the corner of their garments. These tassels, which were extensions of the embroidery in the hem, were a kind of identification. For instance, priests had quite elaborate hems according to Ex. 28:33. Undoubtedly, the tassel of a king was more elaborate than the tassel of a common man and identified him as royalty. Evidently, each person’s tassel was unique since Mesopotamian texts indicate that they were impressed into clay as a kind of signature. Furthermore, removing the hem and its tassels symbolized a change in the identification of a person. For instance, when a man divorced his wife, he cut off the hem of her garment which identified her as his wife (see Jacob Milgrom, “Of Hems and Tassels,” Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1983, p. 61 ff.). In this case, David removed that which in part identified Saul as king, and in doing so he insulted the ruler of God’s people. Hence, David felt remorse for his deed.

PERSUASION. When David returned to his men, he had to justify his refusal to kill Saul. David did not merely defend himself. He “persuaded” them (1 Sam. 24:7). Saul was his master because he was the Lord’s anointed. He would not lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed. On this basis, David saw the situation as a temptation rather than a providential opportunity. David wanted his men to show the same respect to Saul as he did.

DILEMMA. So how does one distinguish a temptation from a providential opportunity? In the story about how Ahab spared the Aramean king, Ben-Hadad, after defeating him in battle, a prophet rebuked Ahab for not taking advantage of a providential opportunity (I Kings 20:42). Ahab erred in sparing an enemy who had engaged God’s people in battle (Deut. 20:13). David’s situation was different because Saul had been anointed by God to rule Israel and as such was David’s master. It was not lawful even to speak against the ruler of God’s people (Ex. 22:28). Accordingly, David correctly identified what his men thought to be an opportunity to be a temptation. No opportunity is ever providential if it requires one to break God’s law; such opportunities are nothing more than temptations.

LOYALTY. After Saul left the cave, David also left the cave and addressed Saul. In David’s longest recorded speech in 1 Samuel (Bergen, 1996, pp. 239-240), he made it clear that he remained loyal to Saul and would not lift his hand against his “lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed” (1 Sam. 24:10). David called Saul “my father” (1 Sam. 24:11) as he raised a portion of Saul’s garment to prove that he had chosen not to kill Saul when he had the opportunity. David was a man of more noble character than Saul. He would not wrest the kingdom from Saul; instead, he would call upon the Lord to vindicate him.

REALIZATION. Saul was deeply shaken. Not only did he respond by calling David “my son,” but he also completely understood the significance of David’s deed. When Saul saw the hem of his own robe in David’s hand (1 Sam. 24:11), he said, “I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand” (1 Sam. 24:20 ESV, emphasis mine). And again alluding to David’s act of cutting off the corner of his robe, he pled, “Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me” (1 Sam. 24:21 ESV, emphasis mine). In this speech, which is also Saul’s longest recorded speech (Bergen, 1996, pp. 239-240), Saul acknowledged that David would indeed become king of Israel.