Light in the Darkness

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

6 They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8     Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth! – Psalm 57:1-11 ESV

Because of Saul’s unjustified vendetta against him, David was forced to seek refuge in the wilderness. During his 13-year-long exile from Judah, David and his faithful band of men lived in constant fear for their lives, trying to stay one step ahead of Saul and his posse of well-trained mercenaries.

David wrote this psalm during this emotionally draining and confusing phase of his life. Yet despite the less-than-pleasant conditions in which he was forced to live, David remained confident in the Lord’s care and concern for him.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!
    I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings
    until the danger passes by. – Psalm 57:1 NLT

While caves had become a source of physical refuge, David never stopped trusting in God as his ultimate protector and provider. Even as he hid in the dark recesses of some dank and unhospitable cave, David trusted his fate to God, believing that the Almighty would one day restore his fortunes.

I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
He will send help from heaven to rescue me,
    disgracing those who hound me. – Psalm 57:2-23 NLT

Though David was renowned for his military prowess, he viewed himself as a helpless bird huddled under the protective wing of its mother. During his extended trial, David had found God to be a constant source of strength and encouragement, showing up at just the right time and delivering him from the hands of his enemies. His escape from King Achish and the Philistines had not resulted from his award-winning acting skills, but because God had intervened on his behalf (1 Samuel 21:10-15).

David was a realist and not an overly optimistic, glass-half-full kind of guy. He knew the desperate nature of his circumstances and was more than willing to paint his conditions in realist terms.

I am surrounded by fierce lions
    who greedily devour human prey—
whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows,
    and whose tongues cut like swords. – Psalm 57:4 NLT

But as he expressed in the previous psalm, David saw no reason to fear men as long as God was on his side.

…my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me? – Psalm 56:2-4 ESV

This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me? – Psalm 56;9-11 ESV

David was in God’s leadership training school, where he received on-the-job training in trust and obedience. His path to the throne of Israel was proving to be anything but smooth and pleasant, but his awareness of God’s power and provision increased daily. 

His life was an up-and-down, roller-coaster affair filled with constant threats to his life that required persistent reliance upon God. But even during his darkest moments, David never stopped viewing himself as a servant of God whose role was to shepherd and protect the people of God. At one point, he heard that the Philistines were stealing grain from the town of Keilah. Apalled by this act of aggression, David sought to know what God would have him do. When he asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?” (1 Samuel 23:2 NLT), he received a positive response.

So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. – 1 Samuel 23:5 NLT

When Saul received news that David had rescued the town of Keilah, he didn’t rejoice in this unexpected defeat of the Philistines. Instead, he saw an opportunity to capture David.

“We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. – 1 Samuel 23:7-8 NLT

Fresh off his victory over the Philistines, David soon received news that Saul was coming. What made this report so disturbing was the fact that Saul intended to destroy his own people just to capture David. So, David sought the will of God once again.

“O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.” – 1 Samuel 23:10-11 NLT

God confirmed David’s suspicions, so rather than risk the lives of the people of Keilah, David and his men vacated the town and headed back into the wilderness.

So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. – 1 Samuel 23:13-14 NLT

That last line is key and explains why David had such confidence in God. He understood that God was responsible for his safety and security. Yahweh had provided every last-minute escape and led them to just the right cave to serve as their “stronghold.”  

Looking back at his circumstances, David crafted a song to tell others what he had learned about his God. He penned the lyrics to a hymn of praise that chronicled God’s goodness even in the worst of times. David was being chased and hounded. His very life was in danger. He was surrounded by enemies and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Yet he had been anointed by the prophet Samuel and appointed by God to be the next king of Israel. That is why he kept trusting in and crying out to the one “who will fulfill His purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2 NLT). Despite all that had happened since his anointing, David continued to trust God for the future.

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    my heart is confident.
    No wonder I can sing your praises! – Psalm 57:7 NLT

When Samuel traveled to Jesse’s house to find Saul’s replacement as king, David heard the Lord say, “This is the one; anoint him” (1 Samuel 16:12 NLT). Then Samuel poured the anointing oil on David’s head, and God poured His Spirit into David’s heart. In doing so, God promised David that he would one day be the next king of Israel. Yes, Saul was still on the throne and David was hiding out in a cave in the wilderness, but despite those circumstances, God would keep His promise.

David could sing God’s praises because He had learned to trust God’s promises. He didn’t delay his praise until God had fulfilled all his promises and he was sitting on the throne of Israel. No, David sang God’s praises from the depths of a cave in the middle of the wilderness, years before he ever put a crown on his head or set foot in the city of Jerusalem. David sang of God’s love and faithfulness in anticipation of God’s future fulfillment of His promises.

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. – Psalm 57:9-10 NNLT

David had learned to praise God in the midst of his problems, not just after they were gone. He could sing in the darkness of the cave, when the light of God’s glory was difficult to discern and the hope of His promises was hidden from view.

Like David, we can praise God for what He has yet to do, because He always comes through. He keeps His word. The Lord never lies or reneges on His commitments.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

David cried out to God, knowing that He would send help from heaven to rescue him. In due time, God would do what He had promised to do. And He still works the same way today. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. We can sing in the cave because God is there. We can rejoice in the darkness because God’s light never diminishes or dims.

Father, may I be able to say, “My heart is confident in you, my heart is confident.” And may I be able to say it long before You’ve proven it true. May I praise You based on Your reputation for faithfulness, not just when I’ve seen it lived out. I tend to want to praise You when Your promises have been fulfilled in full. But David sang of Your greatness even when his circumstances painted a different picture. Strengthen my faith so that I might praise You even when I can’t see You. Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

An Opportunity to Trust

1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 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. 4 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.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’” – 1 Samuel 24:1-10  ESV

Distracted by the surprise attack by the Philistines, Saul was forced to call off his manhunt, allowing David time to escape to the wilderness of Engedi. But it was not long before Saul was on the warpath again, accompanied by 3,000 highly trained soldiers. His mission was to capture and kill David. But Chapter 24 provides a striking contrast between Saul, the current king of Israel, and David, the God-appointed king-elect of Israel. Time and time again we’ve read of Saul’s relentless pursuit of David and his obsessive compulsion to take his life. Now the tables will turn. This time around, David will be given an opportunity to take matters into his own hands and eliminate the threat of Saul once and for all.

What happens next is almost comical. Saul, seeking to answer the call of nature, entered a nearby cave somewhere in the wilderness of Engedi. Little did he know that David and his men had chosen that very cave to hide from Saul’s mercenaries. Alone and unguarded, the king unwittingly put himself in a vulnerable position. Inches away in the darkness, the very man Saul was seeking was watching his every move. For David’s companions, the king’s defenseless posture was a divine invitation for David to act. They believed God was giving their leader a divinely ordained opportunity to turn the tables on Saul and bring their fugitive lifestyle to an end.

“Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” – 1 Samuel 24:4 NLT

Their assessment of the situation was quick and incredibly clear – at least to them. God had obviously sent Saul into the cave for the sole purpose of David taking his life. What else could it be? The timing was perfect. Saul was alone. He was defenseless. Of all the caves in the wilderness of Engedi, he just happened to have chosen this one. What else could it be but a providential case of good fortune? With little effort and no opposition,  David could end this nightmare once and for all.

There was only one problem: Nowhere in the text does it indicate that God had given His permission for David or anyone else to take the life of Saul. Regardless of the picture-perfect circumstances and the seemingly divine nature of the opportunity, David had received no divine authority to lift a finger against Saul.

But David, emboldened by the advice of his men, crept forward and approached the defenseless Saul. But rather than slitting Saul’s throat, David cut away a portion of the king’s robe. Despite the eager advice of his companions, David chose to spare Saul’s life. Yet his actions were calculated and intended to send a crystal-clear message to Saul. When the king eventually retrieved his robe and exited the cave, he would discover that a portion of his robe was missing. Then David would reveal himself and let Saul know just how close he had come to death. The missing section of the robe would serve as proof that David could end Saul’s reign at any time.

Yet, David soon realized that he had committed an act of rebellion. His conscience got the better of him, forcing him to confess his sin to his men.

…then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. – 1 Samuel 24:5-7 NLT

His action had been presumptuous and done without divine authority. God had not given him permission to take matters into his own hands. When Jonathan had told David, “You shall be king over Israel” (1 Samuel 23:17 ESV), those words must have registered in David's mind and given him the confidence to believe that God had anointed him to be the next king of Israel. But God had not told David when or how his reign would happen.

Saul was still the king and, technically, the anointed sovereign over the nation of Israel. Saul had been chosen by God, and at no time had God given David permission to take his life to speed up the coronation and transfer-of-power process. David was susceptible to the same thing that all followers of God face: To believe that the end justifies the means. It was far too easy for David to assume that if he was to be the next king of Israel, getting rid of the current king would be a natural part of God’s plan. But God had not disclosed to David how He would bring about the transition of power from one man to the next. That was God’s concern, not David’s.

The Scriptures are full of warnings about confusing our plans with those of God.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
 – Proverbs 19:21 ESV

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. – Proverbs 16:9 NLT

We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer. – Proverbs 16:1 NLT

LORD, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. – Jeremiah 10:23 NET Bible

David had no shortage of well-meaning friends providing well-intentioned advice. But what he really needed was a word from God. The opportunity may have looked right, but without God’s approval, the outcome would turn out all wrong. It’s interesting that David eventually admitted to Saul, “the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave” (1 Samuel 24:10 ESV). David is not suggesting that God had given him permission to kill Saul; he is simply saying that this encounter was not a coincidence. He had been put to the test by God, and David’s men had made that test even more difficult by counseling him to take Saul’s life. But he didn’t. David even viewed his cutting off the section of Saul’s robe as an act that was unsanctioned by God. He had overstepped his bounds.

Opportunity means nothing without God-given authority. In fact, there is an interesting side story that involves Saul himself. In the early days of his reign, when he had been king for only two years, Saul found himself besieged by the Philistines. He was outnumbered. He had 3,000 men but was facing 6,000 Philistine cavalry, 30,000 chariots, and infantry that numbered “as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude” (1 Samuel 13:5 ESV). Needless to say, his troops were terrified. In fact, the passage tells us:

When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. – 1 Samuel 24:6-7 ESV

Here’s the point. Saul had been instructed by Samuel the prophet to wait in Gilgal for seven days. When the seven days passed and the prophet was nowhere to be found, Saul took matters into his own hands. He was facing a formidable foe and having to do so with demoralized troops. So, he seized the opportunity and commanded his servants, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” (1 Samuel 13:9 ESV). Rather than continuing to wait for Samuel offered the burnt offering himself. Then, “as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came” (1 Samuel 13:10 ESV).

Saul thought that he had done the right thing. The people of Israel were in trouble and the prophet was nowhere to be found. Somebody needed to offer a sacrifice to God before the battle ensued. But while Saul had the opportunity, he did not have the authority, and he would have to suffer the consequences for his disobedience.

When confronted by Samuel, Saul explained, “The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:12 ESV). Saul’s compulsion is not to be confused with God’s permission. His urge to do something was situation-induced and self-authorized. As a result, his offering brought God’s wrath, not a blessing. Acting on behalf of God, but without having received the permission of God, was a sign of disobedience, not faithfulness.

God had a plan but Saul got impatient. He took matters into his own hands. But just because an opportunity presented itself did not mean God was in it or had given His permission for it. God’s will can only be done in God’s way. Opportunity without authority will almost always result in calamity.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.