Scripture

And Saul said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.”

Observation

Saul resumes his hunt for David in the wilderness of En-gedi. On one occasion, Saul goes into a cave to relieve himself, while David and his men are hiding further in the same cave. David cuts off the hem od Saul’s garment despite his army urging him to use the opportunity to kill Saul.

When Saul leaves the cave, David call out to him and questions why Saul has been hunting him. David shows him the strip of garment demonstrating his loyalty to Saul.

Saul admits that David is the better man, having repaid good for evil. David promises that when he becomes king he will look after Saul’s family. So SAul goes home, but David and his men remain in their stronghold .

Application

The way of the world is to repay evil for evil, tit-for-tat, revenge and honour killings. The way of God is to repay good for evil.

When someone wrongs us, intentionally or otherwise, we should swallow our desire for revenge and all manifestations of anger. We should forgive them and, then, if we have an ongoing relationship, seek to bless them.

The best way to defeat an enemy is to turn them into a friend. This is what God has done for us. We were once enemies of God, but through Christ, we are now friends of God. The fight is over. We are reconciled to him.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for redeeming me, for turning me from your enemy into your friend. Please help me to deal in the same way with people who set themselves against me. Amen.

Scripture

So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines.

Observation

David hears that the Philistines are stealing grain at Keilah. David asks the Lord if he should go and defend Keilah, and the Lord says to go.

When Saul hears that David is at Keilah, he mobilises the army to go and capture him. The Lord warns David that the man of Keilah will hand him over to Saul, so he and his men flee to the hill country. Although Saul hnts him day after day, the Lord protects David.

On one occasion, Saul and his man begin closing in on David, but Saul receives word that the Philistines are attacking Israel again. He quits chasing David to fight the Philistines.

Application

It is clear that while Saul should have been fighting the Philistines and removing them as a threat to the nation, he instead engaged in a time-consuming hunt for David. He was obsessed with the wrong enemy.

There are many Christians who are in the same category. The heresy hunters go over every word written or spoken by their self declared enemies in order to prove how wrong they are. They don’t fight satan or the enemies of christians. No, they are obsessed with the wrong enemy.

Rather than fighting christian brothers and sisters, we all need to spend our time and energy taking the battle to satan. We do this by sharing the gospel with friends, by loving those who are hurting, by fighting for justice for those whom the system neglects.

Make sure you are fighting the right battles.

Prayer

Lord, please show me how to fight your battles and how to defeat your enemies in the Spirit. Amen.