CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

24:1
After Saul returned from ur!u"n# t$e P$"l"!t"ne!% $e &a! told% '(a)"d "! "n t$e (e!ert of En *ed"+'
Obviously Saul was successful in attacking the Philistines. Even though he is out of fellowship, God gave
him the victory. God is protecting Israel in spite of Saul.
$e &a! told ho told Saul! "he #iphites, $%&'(.
En *ed"
'. allotted to the tribe of )udah
$. famous in the time of Solomon *)osh '+&,$-
%. had perfect conditions for agriculture in ancient times
.. pefume produced there
+. has the best fresh water large springs in the area/ includes waterfalls
,. surrounded by the )udean ilderness
0. site today of an Israeli kibbut1
2. location of the Ein Gedi national park
(. today3s 4ave of the Pool possible site of the cave in our chapter
'5. described as a soul as thirsting for God 6in a dry and weary land where there is no water6 in Psa. ,%&'.
67s the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God6 *Psa. .$&'-
''. 68or 9y people have committed two evils& "hey have forsaken 9e, "he fountain of living waters, "o
hew for themselves cisterns, :roken cisterns "hat can hold no water.; *)er. $&'%-
<avid drank the =iving ater *he obeyed the =ord- but Saul drank the stale water of a broken cistern.
2
So Saul too, t$ree t$ou!and -$o!en men from all .!rael and !et out to loo, for (a)"d and $"! men
near t$e Cra#! of t$e W"ld *oat!+
Saul doesn3t even rest from his battle with the Philistines. 9ost of his men are probably e>hausted, but his
obsession with <avid forces him on, but this time with what is called his -$o!en or !ele-t men+ In earlier
pursuits Saul might have had a huge army chasing <avid. "hat wasn3t successful, so he now has selected
men who are especially skilled and brave. "hese men are the best soldiers Saul can find, who having ?ust
fought, still can go on. *4ottage :ible, '2+$- Saul had to search all Israel for these select men. 7nd I bet he
paid them well.
Saul had a general idea of where <avid was hiding. e know the area was difficult to get to since it3s called
4rags of the ild Goats.
%
He -ame to t$e !$ee en! alon# t$e &a/0 a -a)e &a! t$ere% and Saul &ent "n to rel"e)e $"m!elf+ (a)"d
and $"! men &ere far 1a-, "n t$e -a)e+
"he sheep pens are natural rock pens. "he area is full of caves, many large enough to hold all of <avid3s
men.
Saul &ent "n to rel"e)e $"m!elf "he @)A has, BSaul went in to cover his feet.; "his @)A doesn3t make much
sense. Saul went in to defecate.
'
Psa +0 and '.$ speak of this event.
I can only imagine how <avid and his men felt as they saw Saul and his men approach the cave. Some of our
worse fears have humorous outcomes.
4
T$e men !a"d% 'T$"! "! t$e da/ t$e 2OR( !o,e of &$en $e !a"d to /ou% 3. &"ll #")e /our enem/ "nto
/our $and! for /ou to deal &"t$ a! /ou &"!$+4 'T$en (a)"d -ret u unnot"-ed and -ut off a -orner of
Saul4! ro1e+
7s soon as <avid3s men saw Saul in the cave, they wanted to kill him. "hey saw this as God answering their
prayers. e don3t find this in Scripture, what they said the =ord said. B. &"ll #")e /our enem/ "nto /our
$and! for /ou to deal &"t$ a! /ou &"!$+5 "he soldiers may be misapplying the prophecy, distorting the
prophecy, or making it up. People often think they3re Cuoting Scripture, but aren3t.
e have to be careful not to read too much into circumstances to as an answer to prayer.
<avid cuts off a corner of Saul3s robe. I3m not sure how <avid did this. Saul probably took off his robe and
<avid cut off a corner while Saul was doing his thing.
"his shows Saul that he3s not in control of his destiny, of his life, that <avid is.
"his is being disrespectful to the =ord3s anointed.
"his shows that <avid is taking authority, symboli1ed by the corner of his royal robe, from Saul.
One author suggests that it symboli1es <avid killing Saul. <avid wanted to kill Saul.
<effinbaugh thinks this is like slashing the tires on Saul3s car/ I don3t think so.
+
After&ard% (a)"d &a! -on!-"en-e-!tr"-,en for $a)"n# -ut off a -orner of $"! ro1e+
6
He !a"d to $"!
men% 'T$e 2OR( for1"d t$at . !$ould do !u-$ a t$"n# to m/ ma!ter% t$e 2OR(4! ano"nted% or l"ft m/
$and a#a"n!t $"m0 for $e "! t$e ano"nted of t$e 2OR(+'
7
W"t$ t$e!e &ord! (a)"d re1u,ed $"! men
and d"d not allo& t$em to atta-, Saul+ And Saul left t$e -a)e and &ent $"! &a/+
<avid has a lot of doctrine.
6
He !a"d to $"! men% 'T$e 2OR( for1"d+ <avid knows Saul was chosen by
God to be the first king of Israel, and he knows God will remove Saul in Dis time. <avid knows that he is not
to take the throne from Saul but the =ord is to give the throne to him. In his heart <avid would love to kill
Saul. I suspect he was tempted to do so. De says t$e 2ord for1"d. Dis conscience or his morals don3t forbid
him, but the =ord, the ord of God. In $Sam <avid will e>ecute the 7malekite who killed Saul, the =ord3s
anointed. e should be governed by the ord of God, Scripture, even the lessons we learn today. One author
writes, BIt is not generosity that checks <avid but respect for the divine will E;
<avid3s men where itching to kill Saul. In verse 0 we have the words Brebuked.; In the Debrew the words
are Btore apart/; these are strong words, meaning <avid had to e>ert all his authority to keep his men from
killing Saul. <avid3s men are tired of being pursued by Saul. 9any of his men start off Bbitter of soul.;
Imagine how much more bitter they are now. Femember that <avid wasn3t leading an all together
professional army, though by now they3re probably being molded into a professional army. I suspect that
<avid was barely able to restrain his men and avert a mutiny. 7nd <avid did all this in a cave where he had
to be very Cuiet to keep from being heard by Saul.
$
"he cave must have had another e>it to allow <avid and his men to escape, or more likely they believe
Saul3s men will leave once he is dead.
<avid waited for the =ord to take care of Saul. Saul is going to die. I think Saul knows this as does )onathan.
I think )onathan believes he too will die. "he =ord will have them die in his time. Imagine the conseCuences
if <avid killed Saul! 7nd what an ignoble death for Saul, to be killed sitting on the toilet. God has blessed
Saul with a death at the hands of the Philistines, an honorable death.
e have to be careful in talking about God3s anointed, even those who are out of 8ellowship and the ill of
God.

2
T$en (a)"d &ent out of t$e -a)e and -alled out to Saul% '8/ lord t$e ,"n#9' W$en Saul loo,ed
1e$"nd $"m% (a)"d 1o&ed do&n and ro!trated $"m!elf &"t$ $"! fa-e to t$e #round+
and -alled out to Saul "he verb means there was a goodly distance between them.
<avid is very respectful of Saul.
(
He !a"d to Saul% 'W$/ do /ou l"!ten &$en men !a/% 3(a)"d "! 1ent on $arm"n# /ou4:
Gnlike Saul, <avid hasn3t listened to his men who want to kill Saul. I3m sure Saul had a palaces staff who
said what Saul wanted to hear, that <avid was out to kill him.
1;
T$"! da/ /ou $a)e !een &"t$ /our o&n e/e! $o& t$e 2OR( del")ered /ou "nto m/ $and! "n t$e -a)e+
Some ur#ed me to ,"ll /ou% 1ut . !ared /ou0 . !a"d% 3. &"ll not l"ft m/ $and a#a"n!t m/ ma!ter% 1e-au!e
$e "! t$e 2OR(4! ano"nted+4
11
See% m/ fat$er < a term of respectH% loo, at t$"! "e-e of /our ro1e "n m/
$and9 . -ut off t$e -orner of /our ro1e 1ut d"d not ,"ll /ou+ No& under!tand and re-o#n"=e t$at . am
not #u"lt/ of &ron#do"n# or re1ell"on+ . $a)e not &ron#ed /ou% 1ut /ou are $unt"n# me do&n to ta,e
m/ l"fe+
12
8a/ t$e 2OR( >ud#e 1et&een /ou and me+ And ma/ t$e 2OR( a)en#e t$e &ron#! /ou
$a)e done to me% 1ut m/ $and &"ll not tou-$ /ou+
ma/ t$e 2OR( a)en#e t$e &ron#! /ou $a)e done to me% Or may the =ord e>ecute ?udgment or take
vengeance against you. <avid is going to leave Saul3s punishment in the =ord3s hands. <id the =ord kill
Saul! Io but he allowed Saul to be killed.
"here is therefore no reason, says <avid, that you should be 6hunting6 me.
'%
A! t$e old !a/"n# #oe!% 3From e)"ldoer! -ome e)"l deed!%4 !o m/ $and &"ll not tou-$ /ou+
=it. Bout of the wrong ones comes something wrong.;
Saul is the evildoer who is doing evil deeds.
<avid is not an evildoer/ he hasn3t done the evil deed of killing the king.
If he were an evil doer, Saul would have been dead a long time ago.
%
<avid a righteous man will not kill Saul, but Saul an evil man will kill himself.
)esus said, B:y their fruits you will know them.; 9att. 0&',, $5
'.
6A#a"n!t &$om $a! t$e ,"n# of .!rael -ome out: W$om are /ou ur!u"n#: A dead do#: A <!"n#le?
flea:
Some translations make this a Cuestion, some a statement.
"here seems to be two main interpretations. 9ost commentaries chose the second one.
*'- <avid is telling Saul that he3s not a push over. @illing him won3t be easy.
*$- <avid is saying that it3s of no value to him, Saul, to pursue him. De is only a dead dog or a flea. If he is
caught, he is of no value/ in fact, it3s more work than it3s worth. "he 4EA has, Bhy should the king of
Israel be out chasing me, anyway!; In other words, I3m as worthless as a dead dog or a flea on that dead dog.
*4ottage :ible p. %,(-
<avid is saying he is harmless and insignificant. "he image is one of Saul and his hand picked men chasing a
dead dog.
One author says there are lots of fleas, the Philistines, on the dead dog of Israel, and Saul doesn3t need to be
chasing <avid.
1@
8a/ t$e 2OR( 1e our >ud#e and de-"de 1et&een u!+ 8a/ $e -on!"der m/ -au!e and u$old "t0 ma/
$e )"nd"-ate me 1/ del")er"n# me from /our $and+'
"his is <avid3s prayer. JJ Iew =iving "ranslation B"he =ord will decide between us. Perhaps the =ord will
punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.;

16
W$en (a)"d f"n"!$ed !a/"n# t$"!% Saul a!,ed% '.! t$at /our )o"-e% (a)"d m/ !on:' And $e &et
aloud+
17
'You are more r"#$teou! t$an .%' $e !a"d+ 'You $a)e treated me &ell% 1ut . $a)e treated /ou
1adl/+
1A
You $a)e >u!t no& told me of t$e #ood /ou d"d to me0 t$e 2OR( del")ered me "nto /our
$and!% 1ut /ou d"d not ,"ll me+
1B
W$en a man f"nd! $"! enem/% doe! $e let $"m #et a&a/ un$armed:
8a/ t$e 2OR( re&ard /ou &ell for t$e &a/ /ou treated me toda/+
2;
. ,no& t$at /ou &"ll !urel/ 1e
,"n# and t$at t$e ,"n#dom of .!rael &"ll 1e e!ta1l"!$ed "n /our $and!+
21
No& !&ear to me 1/ t$e
2OR( t$at /ou &"ll not -ut off m/ de!-endant! or &"e out m/ name from m/ fat$er4! fam"l/+'
(a)"d m/ !on Chat has Saul been calling <avid up to now! 6Son of )esse,6 son of that family with
9oabitesses and 4anaanites in it, Keven one marriage to an 7mmoniteH, a nothing kid, that runt of the litter
who comes from a mi>ed bag of a background, not even a pure )ew.; *:ob Foe-
"he meeting of <avid and Saul was designed by God as a test of <avid and as an appeal to Saul to repent.
"his sounds like true repentance, but it isn3t.
It3s very emotional. Saul wept loudly.
Saul isn3t thinking, he3s emoting.
De is soon back to his old ways of hunting <avid.
Saul has no integrity.
.
De has doctrine but is going to willfully disobey the ord of God.
De is going to re?ect the =ord3s doctrine concerning <avid. In chapter $+ Saul marries <avid3s wife to
another man, thus re?ecting <avid as his son in law. In chapter $, Saul is back to hunting <avid.
2;
. ,no& t$at /ou &"ll !urel/ 1e ,"n# and t$at t$e ,"n#dom of .!rael &"ll 1e e!ta1l"!$ed "n /our $and!+
Saul knows this by Samuel3s revelation and by the fact that Saul can see that God is protecting <avid.
Saul has <avid promise not to wipe out his line. <avid kept his promise by protecting )onathan3s son, but he
did turn over to the Gibeonites Saul3s grandsons in $ Sam $'. 7nd the Gibeonites hung them.
:oth )onathan and Saul pleaded with <avid not to take revenge on their descendants. Is there a flaw in
<avid! Is he the type of person who tries to get even!
<avid is here covenanting with Saul not to kill off all of his descendants, thus keeping Saul3s family *and
thus his name- from being carried on after his death. I do not understand <avid to be promising that he will
not kill any of his descendants. "hus, when we come to $ Samuel $' , <avid will e>ecute seven of Saul3s
descendants to rectify Saul3s slaughter of the Gibeonites. <avid e>ecutes two sons of Fi1pah, one of Saul3s
concubines, and five sons of 9erab, Saul3s daughter, who almost became <avid3s wife. De does not e>ecute
any of Saul3s sons nor any of )onathan3s children. "hus he keeps his oath to Saul and his covenant with
)onathan. *<effinbaugh-
So far Saul has come over as a monster. :ut there is the good Saul, the Saul in fellowship with the =ord. Saul
was a great general. 7s a father, he might have been a better father than <avid. Saul3s sons die with him in
battle. <avid3s sons battle each other and one tries to kill <avid. Saul of a thousand years later writes, B8or
we know that the =aw is spiritual KGod givenH/ but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin KI am a victim not a
victorH. 8or that which I am doing, I do not understand/ for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I
am doing the very thing I hate.; *:ob Foe-
22
So (a)"d #a)e $"! oat$ to Saul+ T$en Saul returned $ome% 1ut (a)"d and $"! men &ent u to t$e
!tron#$old+
(a)"d and $"! men &ent u to t$e !tron#$old <avid doesn3t trust Saul, so he goes to a place of safety in
the mountains, probably 7dullam.
+