1

David Spares the Life of Saul

2

1 Samuel 24:6 (NIV)

He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

3

Saul, the first king of Israel hated David so much.
The story today goes back to the time when David had defeated Goliath.

4

David had defeated Goliath, the terrible general of the Philistines. By this, they had defeated the Philistines. When King Saul and David were on the way of coming back together, the people said, "Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands". They said David did better than Saul in the War.

5

Saul and David had a special bond. Saul's daughter, Michal was David's wife. Meaning, David was Saul's son-in-law and the first prince, Jonathan liked David so much.

6

However, Saul hated David so much because he was afraid that David might usurp his throne. So he wanted to kill David whenever he got a chance.

7

One day, after Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, a man came to Saul and told him where David was. "David is in the Desert of En Gedi.”

8

So, Saul took three thousand able young men and went to the Desert of En Gedi following the one who had told him. He was in a hurry to get David before he escaped.

9

King Saul and his men combed through that wide desert. Saul looked for David here and there and got to the front of a cave.

10

Saul entered that cave to answer the call of nature.
However, David and his men were hiding in a cave.
David could have killed King Saul if he had wanted to.

11

His men said, "Finally, God has given us this opportunity. Kill King Saul while his is relieving himself. David got close to Saul.

12

His men watched David thinking he would surely kill King Saul. David came right up to Saul's back. Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

13

David said to his men who were very depressed, "King Saul is the anointed of the Lord. How could I kill God's man by my hands? Don't ever try to hurt him!" With these words, David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul.

14

After that, Saul left the cave and went his way. Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15

He said to Saul raising his hand holding a piece of Saul's robe, “I could have killed you today but I did not. Why do you listen when men say, "David is bent on harming you?"

16

Saul was surprised and he found out that David truly cared for him.
"I tried to kill you but you have given mercy to me today..."
Saul found out that he had been wrong and swore that he would never try to kill David again.

17

David did not kill King Saul even though the people around him told him to kill him.
He knew that God would be more happy to see him spare Saul’s life.
David's wise choice made Saul to realize his wrongdoing.

18

David could make this wise choice by admitting the authority of God.
We could also face undeserved hardships. On all such occasions, we have to remember today's word and make decisions that make God happy as wise children of God.

(You can change the conclusion of this sermon best suiting to your listeners of this sermon. We want to make it clear that the provided conclusion is only a sample conclusion provided by CTM.)