“Sha’ul took three thousand men chosen from all Isra’el and went searching for David and his men on the cliffs where the mountain goats are. Near some sheep pens along the way was a cave, and Sha’ul went inside to relieve himself. It happened that David and his men were sitting in the recesses at the back of the cave…”-1 Samuel 24:2-3
Did David actively attempt to dethrone Saul?
This is a key theological theme woven throughout 1st Samuel Chapter 24.
See, here’s the thing.
If David was just another power-hungry warrior who gathered his supporters to overthrow a king of a rival tribe…
If this was just a matter of a southern tribal king making moves to unseat a northern adversary…
In other words, if this was just a political issue filled with typical human desires for power…
Then how can we consider David to be God’s anointed King?
Are you feeling me here?
These two viewpoints – the Godly perspective and the earthly perspective – have been debated for centuries.
I side with the Godly perspective…
I believe God chose David to be Israel’s next king.
Why am I confident in this?
Because he never sought the throne in the first place…
Nor did he hold feelings of hostility towards Saul…
David’s current predicament was because Saul in his jealous rage decided to go after him…
David was simply responding to Saul’s behavior.
He had surrendered his life to God and was relying on the Lord for protection and guidance.
This was a much different attitude than someone relying on his flesh and aggressively seeking power.
This attitude would determine David’s unusual behavior when he was given a chance to kill Saul but didn’t take it.
We’ll get into this the next time we meet.
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