In a very similar narrative to ch24, this chapter contains another account of David sparing Saul’s life, even though he could have easily killed him.
“Saul recognized David’s voice and said, ‘Is this your voice, my son David?’ And David said, ‘It is my voice, my lord, O king… Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant.’ Then Saul said, ‘I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.’ ” (v17-19a,21)
David and Abishai sneak into Saul’s camp after the Lord put the people into a deep sleep. Though Abishai wishes to kill Saul, David once more affirms that Saul is not to be harmed by his hand, or the hand of one of his men. The Lord forbade David from harming His ‘anointed’ (the king). Unfortunately, Saul does not honor such a restriction (he had the priests of Nob executed, and seeks to kill David, who is also anointed).
Just as he did with the corner of Saul’s robe, David calls to Saul’s camp from a safe distance, showing them the spear and water jug. He asks again why Saul is hunting them, for he has not sinned against Saul. Once more Saul audibly repents and admits his sin against David, yet on the inside his heart has not changed.
Saul is a prime example of poor integrity, and David an example of good integrity. First, one of my favorite definitions of integrity: “consistency between internal belief and external behavior”. Meaning, what you believe is in alignment with what you say / do, and what you say / do is in alignment with what you believe.
Saul’s words of repentance and admission of sin do not display integrity. Despite his lips saying the words, it is clear Saul’s heart is not truly repentant – his belief and behavior do not match. Though his lips admit his guilt and proclaim God as Lord, his actions and heart show a perpetual pattern of sin (ignoring God’s commands).
David’s beliefs and behaviors show integrity – he claims to be following God, and his behavior (words and actions) back that up. He prays, shows mercy, is humble, and leads by setting a good example (obeying God’s commands). Every fiber of David’s being proclaim’s God as Lord of his life.
My encouragement for today is to show integrity in all that we believe, say and do. If we believe in our heart that Jesus is our Savior, and claim to be born-again children of God, may our behaviors reflect that on a more consistent basis. It’s true, like David we will still sin, however, we can have integrity more often than not. Let’s not live like pagans while professing God as our Lord (like Saul did), because it will confuse those around us and won’t bring glory to God (in fact it will tarnish God’s name). We should also avoid the other inconsistency of acting like Christ followers (being a ‘good person’), without having a true change of heart (beliefs that match the good behaviors). Let’s be a people of integrity, aligning our behaviors with our beliefs, and bring glory to our Lord God.
Father God, our Lord and Savior, great and mighty is Your name. May heaven and earth praise Your holy name. Jesus, thank you for being an example of integrity – Your words and actions consistently backed up Your beliefs in the Father. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit may we learn how to be people of real integrity. In the name of Jesus, our holy and righteous Savior, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training