And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.”
1 Samuel 24:3-4 ESV
In this Scripture passage, David and his men have been hiding out in the wilderness. We were told in previous chapters that the LORD was with David, but that the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul. David never pursued Saul. He never was the aggressor. He was merely trying to avoid being killed by Saul. Keep in mind that David was a mighty warrior. God was with him. There is no reason for us to think that he would not have been victorious had he chosen to fight against Saul. But, instead David stayed in the wilderness to avoid conflict with Saul.
Now I am not a wilderness kind of person and I can just imagine that it would get old very quickly. I can also imagine that David’s men were tired and hungry and probably longed to go home. Here they are in this cave and the perfect opportunity presents itself. But, it is really the perfect opportunity or is it a test?
Saul has come in to go to the bathroom. He is in a very vulnerable position. David’s men are hiding out in this cave and could have easily killed Saul and put an end to all their running and hiding out. They could stop living as fugitives. David is going to be the next king, so why not just end it all now. After all, this is the perfect opportunity so it must be a sign from God, right? Wrong.
David knew it was wrong, because for all of Saul’s insanity and meanness and hatred against David, he had been anointed king by God just as David had. David refused to lay a hand on God’s anointed. It may have seemed like the perfect opportunity, but there were a few problems here. First of all, Saul had been anointed king by God. It was God’s job to decide when his kingship would end and how. Secondly, had David killed Saul in that cave it would have been all David, right? We learn from Romans 8:28 that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and live according to His purpose. But whatever we do should bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). David was certainly doing these things, but nothing about his killing Saul in this cave would bring God glory. It would be all about what David could do, not what God could do.
David was in close relationship with the Lord. In previous chapters, he consulted the Lord about going to battle. He didn’t even need to consult God here because he knew that even those this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to end his struggles, this was not what God would want.
When we are not in close relationship with God, we are in a dangerous place. We are in a place where we may be unable to tell the difference between the perfect opportunity and a test. Perhaps this was a test to see if David would pass or fail. David cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. Now my study Bible says that Saul had probably laid his robe aside while he was tending to business. David was able to get close enough to cut off a piece of the bottom of Saul’s robe and go unnoticed. This tells us that he could have easily attacked Saul. But, David felt so guilty and his conscience troubled him so that he followed Saul out of the cave to apologize for cutting off a corner of his robe. Touching a king’s cloak was likened to laying your hands on the king. David felt terribly guilty for what he had done. David went on to tell Saul that he would not harm him, but that he would let God choose between the two of them.
Each and every day we come across opportunities and tests. It’s important that we can tell the difference. We have opportunities to witness to others. We have opportunities to spread the gospel and to have others see Christ in us. We may be tested where we have to understand God’s will in our lives. We will not pass the test if we are not in close relationship with Him through Bible study and prayer.
The next time you see the perfect opportunity to do harm to your enemy ask yourself, “Is God giving me this perfect opportunity or is God giving me a test?” Either way, I hope you get it right.
Have a great day!