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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 2 of 5
1 Samuel 24:1-22
David and his companions have found shelter in other caves: the strongholds of En-gedi. Hebrews 11:38 speaks to us of these men of faith "of whom the world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Then we see Saul, still breathing menaces and murder (like his namesake in Acts 9:1), who, while pursuing David, by chance goes into the cave where David is hiding. His young men immediately see this as the hand of God: "The LORD is giving you an opportunity to finish off your enemy and take his place on the throne." But David will not do this. He honours "the LORD’s anointed" despite his wickedness (1 Peter 2:17). He is also putting into practice the exhortation in Romans 12:19 – "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves." David’s nobility and meekness remind us of the One who did not take vengeance on His enemies but on the contrary prayed for them, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34).
Confounded (see Psalms 35:4), outwardly humiliated, Saul has to recognize David’s rights to the kingdom of Israel. Christ’s enemies will themselves have to confess Him as "Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11; see also Isaiah 49:7).
