Don’t destroy him!
But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” (1 Samuel 26:9)
“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” this word is known as if the epitome of Law of the Old Testament. The concept of retaliation that people think is the principle of paying back alike what they receive bad. The proposition in the Old Testament and the meaning of general retaliation are not different in the outer appearances each other. The relationship between Saul and David was both close and distant to each other. It is common that the palms have to meet one another to make a sound, but peculiarly there wasn’t made such frictional noise from between the Saul’s and the David’s. This is because David did not try to retaliate in same way against Saul’s evil deeds. David tried to respond with goodwill to the enemies, and God supervised fundamentally on David’s favors and retaliation.
Saul was a weak-willed person who could not make daringly a decision for himself. Saul knew David’s sincerity and vowed not to harm David again, but lost often his own the will of righteousness according to the impulses of those around him. When David, who was being chased away by Saul again, was told that he was hiding in the Hakilah Mountain in the Ziph wilderness, Saul went to catch David with as many as 3,000 subordinates. Because David was better than Saul himself, and Saul tried to kill David somehow, fearing that David would succeed under the grace of God.
Attitudes trying to defend oneself because of anxiety and distrust is a universal state of human mind associated with retaliation, and that cannot be defined as just bad. Such that appearance is an ordinary psychological phenomenon all people without belief, who are living away from God the Lord, have. And yet, David who had been damaged by Saul’s evil deeds, did not try to retaliate against him on account of his faith for the Lord. The people next to David even urged him to retaliate to Saul, but rather David ordered with this, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” For his strong belief was that he should only leave it to the Lord’s hands of judgment.
People try to conclude usually, “Yes, this is the time,” based on one’s own subjective judgment. That is, they wish to do rely upon own selfish judgment as if they had get a golden opportunity given by God. And ‘to do act at the opportunity’ is a saying what Saul had heard from Samuel after receiving anointment from Samuel in order to become a king. The important thing is that even if we find any nice opportunity, not to conclude by one’s own thoughts but should judge according to God’s will. If we do that, we absolutely won’t make a mistake in everything. David did not mind the dangers and damages toward himself, and tried to think under God’s will and tried only to follow its conclusion. David clearly adhered to the believing will that he could not harmed to Saul as he was the king who was founded by Jehovah, even though Saul was bad.
David thought that Saul would die at time scheduled by God one day on the battlefield or under certain situations. Those who are biased toward critical thinking might say that David’s such expectations are same to the mind of retaliation. Because that means that he does not have to retaliate directly because he knows that God will retaliate instead of oneself. Then, after all, that seems to be no different from the common psychology as like retaliation by others. Since God is the Almighty, whatever things wouldn’t He be able to do in the world if He wants? It's not easy to understand, but it was the Lord who made wicked King Pharaoh’s heart. So certain people who think as if smart for oneself and condescending say mockingly, “God makes evil, too.” Just as no one can measure the height even if we know that the sky is high, even if we believe in God’s omnipotence, man cannot grasp its limitations. For instance, would be able I understand and explain how the Lord who governs everything manages my mind in detail? Therefore, we realize that humans must follow only God’s holy and good will after all.
Anyway God the Lord is trying to save the world. That is, the purpose of God Christ the Holy Trinity, is not to judge the world, but to rescue the world. The grace and salvation are the absolute proposition of Christ and the Cross. The judgment given to Saul was the resulted punishment deservedly against Saul the king, who disobeyed Jehovah’s words. As David relied upon Jehovah, those who rely upon Jesus Christ will see surprising works the Lord does, and the their future will be bright open wide.
(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Nov 28th 2021)