1 Samuel 26:6-11: a reflection

6Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay around him. 8Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.” 9David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” 10David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him; or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down into battle and perish. 11The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let’s go.”

Once again David has his enemy Saul at his mercy. Creeping into Saul's camp by night, David and Abishai find Saul asleep, his spear stuck in the ground beside him. Abishai sees it as God's gift: Let me strike him; I will not need a second blow. But David refuses again: Do not destroy him; who can raise his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? And he adds his confidence: The LORD will strike him; either his day will come to die, or he will fall in battle. David leaves Saul's fate to God, in God's own time.

Notice the confidence that undergirds David's restraint: the LORD will deal with Saul in his own time. David did not need to take vengeance himself, because he trusted that God would judge Saul rightly, at the right time, in the right way, whether by natural death or in battle. His refusal to strike was not weakness or mere sentiment; it rested on his confidence that judgment belongs to God, who would settle the matter in his own time. David could leave Saul unharmed because he left Saul to God.

That confidence frees us from the burden of taking vengeance. When we are wronged, we feel we must settle the matter ourselves, right the wrong, take our own revenge; and it is hard to leave it alone. But David could leave Saul to God because he trusted that God would deal with him in his own time. God is the judge; he will settle every account rightly, at the right time. When you are wronged and tempted to take vengeance, remember David's confidence: the LORD will deal with it in his time. You do not have to settle the score yourself; leave it to God, who judges rightly, and trust his timing. Vengeance belongs to God; entrust the wrong to him, as David entrusted Saul, and be freed from the burden of avenging yourself.

Lord, again David had Saul at his mercy, and when Abishai urged him to strike, David refused, trusting that you would deal with Saul in your own time, whether by death or in battle; his restraint rested on his confidence that judgment belongs to you. Free me with that same confidence. When I am wronged, I feel I must settle the matter myself, right the wrong, take my own revenge; and it is hard to leave it alone. But David could leave Saul to you because he trusted that you would deal with him in your own time. You are the judge; you will settle every account rightly, at the right time. When I am wronged and tempted to take vengeance, help me remember David's confidence: the LORD will deal with it in his time. I do not have to settle the score myself; help me leave it to you, who judge rightly, and trust your timing. Vengeance belongs to you; help me entrust the wrong to you, as David entrusted Saul, and be freed from the burden of avenging myself.