David Pranks the King

# 334 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 24:3-7, “So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'" And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. 6 And he said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. (1 Sa 24:3-7) There's no way to sugar coat this, although many have tried to do so. Some commentators say that Saul went in to the cave to catch a nap, but the needs of Saul here are the fact that nature calls and Saul went into the cave to answer the call. We've all been there and know full well that we are pretty much defenseless in that situation. David's men realize this and whisper excitedly to David, “c'mon, he is ours for the taking!” But rather than kill Saul, David sneaks up on him and snips off a piece of Saul's robe. As soon as he did it, he was cut to the heart! Why? Why did the Holy Spirit convict him of wrongdoing? Because Saul was still God's anointed. He still held the office of king. He was still in authority over David and this act of David's was reeking with disrespect for the office. David understood that his little boyish prank was a prank against God Himself, and he was cut to the heart. This incident with David and Saul is another example to us as Christians of the importance of respecting those in authority over us. Let us learn from it and rather than badmouth those in authority, let us learn to good-mouth them in prayer. Father bless and protect our leaders, give them the guidance they need to rule.