Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(1 Samuel 24:1) And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi."
When we last left David, before the interlude of psalms, Saul had left off from pursuing David because he was told that the Philistines were invading the land, and he went to take care of them. Meanwhile, David had moved on to En Gedi, but Saul was informed that he was hiding out there.
(2) Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
Saul took three thousand choice men out of his army and went to search out David and his men upon the rocks of En Gedi which, it seems, were the delight of the wild goats.
(3) And he came to the sheepcotes by the way where there was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet, and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
A sheepcote was a pen or covered enclosure for sheep which could have been a cave for them to get out of the heat of the sun during the day or rest at night. Saul came to such a place and went into a cave to relieve himself, which was the meaning of the phrase to cover one's feet. I suppose it comes from the fact that if one crouched to relieve himself, his garments would cover his feet. David and his men happened to be hiding in the sides of that cave, obviously in deep recesses not visible to Saul.
(4) And the men of David said to him, "Behold 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 shall seem good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.
Although there is no record of the Lord saying those exact words, David's men told him that this was evidently the day the Lord had delivered Saul into his hand to do what seemed right to him. David just arose and secretly came up behind Saul and cut off the skirt of his robe.
(5) And it came to pass afterward that David's heart struck him because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
After David had done what he had done, he felt guilty about cutting off Saul's skirt, probably because he realized he had taken advantage of the king, his sovereign, in a compromising and undignified position.
(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 forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord."
David told his men that he could not consider taking the life of his king, as he was the anointed king of the Lord.
(7) So David stayed his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way.
Thus David stayed his men from rising up against Saul with his words. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
(8) David also arose afterward and went out of the cave and cried after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself.
After Saul went out of the cave, David also rose up and went out after Saul. He spoke to him, and when Saul looked back at him, David bowed before the king.
(9) And David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to men's words, saying, 'David seeks your harm'?"
David then asked Saul why he listened to the people who said that David sought his harm. Actually, it was Saul who stirred men against David, but David chose to lay the blame on others rather than to accuse Saul.
(10) "Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord had delivered you today into my hand in the cave and bade kill you, but I spared you, and I said, 'I will not put forth my hand against my lord for he is the Lord's anointed.'"
David went on to tell Saul that he had just witnessed that the Lord had delivered Saul to him by bringing him into the very cave where David was hiding. It was not the Lord who bade David to kill Saul, but rather he himself felt prompted to do it. The original word "amar" that was transcribed as "bade" also means "to say in one’s heart, to think, to intend." The fact that the Lord had sent Saul into the cave with David made his first impulse be that He was delivering him for him to kill him. But that was only his knee-jerk reaction. He spared Saul's life and told him that he had consciously decided he would not put forth his hand to do any harm to the Lord's anointed king.
(11) "Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of your robe in my hand, for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that neither evil nor transgression is in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, yet you hunt my soul to take it."
David then showed Saul the edge of the skirt of his robe that he had cut off, demonstrating the fact he had had an opportunity to kill him, but he did not. He reasoned that because of that, Saul should realize that David wished no evil against him and would not sin against him. However, Saul was intent on killing David.
(12) "The Lord judge between me and you, and the Lord avenge me of you, but my hand shall not be upon you."
David told Saul it was for the Lord to judge between him and Saul, and if it was His will, it was for the Lord to avenge David of Saul, but he himself would not lay a hand upon him. Once again, the Lord through David was giving Saul a chance to repent of his actions against David.
(13) "As says the proverb of the ancients, 'Wickedness proceeds from the wicked,' but my hand shall not be against you."
It's not one of the Biblical proverbs, but it was an old saying that wickedness proceeded from the wicked. It could have been David's way of gently hinting to Saul that only a wicked man would choose to do wickedness as in Saul pursuing David for no good cause. However, in David's case, he would do no evil against the king because he was not wicked. Jesus spoke truth into this old saying when He said that a good tree could not produce bad fruit, and a corrupt tree could not bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:18). He also said that the evil could not speak good things, for out of the abundance of their hearts, their mouths spoke (Matthew 12:34).
(14) "After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea."
David asked Saul who it was that he pursued. In David's opinion, it was after one who was completely incapable of defending himself against the king and his vast army, one who could do no harm to the king, one as insignificant as a flea or a dead dog.
(15) "The Lord therefore be judge and judge between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand."
David again called on the Lord to judge between him and Saul, to see the injustice of Saul's pursuit of him, take up his cause, and deliver him out of the hand of Saul.
(16) And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
Saul had stood still and heard David out. I'm sure he was awestruck when he saw David come out of the cave he had just been in with the skirt of his robe in his hand. He asked David a rather rhetorical question if it was truly him who spoke to him. He called him his son, as David was his son-in-law. He then wept aloud.
(17) And he said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded you evil. (18) And you have showed this day how you have dealt well with me, for when the Lord had delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me."
Saul told David that he was more righteous than he, Saul, was. He recognized that David had only done good toward him, as he had only desired evil against David. Specifically, Saul could see how David had dealt with him that very day, when the Lord had delivered Saul right to him, and he did not kill him.
(19) "For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go well away? Therefore the Lord reward you good for what you have done to me this day."
Saul's point was that it was highly unusual for a man to find his enemy and then to let him go away safely. Therefore he offered a blessing to David that the Lord bless him mightily for the good he had done to Saul. David had often prayed to the Lord to take out his enemy (Psalm 17:13, Psalm 140:10), so it would have been reasonable for David to assume that the Lord had answered his prayers and had delivered Saul into his hand to kill him. However, David chose a spiritual Godly response.
This reminds me of the time in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown in prison, and they prayed and sang praises to God. Their prayers were answered, and a great earthquake came and broke all the prison bars. However, Paul and Silas did not leave. The prison guard had awakened, and when he saw all the prison cells opened, he took out his sword to kill himself, knowing that he would have been killed for letting all the prisoners escape. Paul stopped him, saying they were still there, and he was converted. He then took them home with him, and his whole household was saved. The next day the magistrates sent word to let Paul and Silas go free. Had Paul and Silas run free thinking very reasonably that the Lord sent the earthquake to answer their prayers and free them, a man and his entire household would not have been saved. And isn't that the ultimate will of God, that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4)? And as it was also still His will that Paul and Silas be freed, that was still done. When we do the right thing according to God's will, He will bless and protect us. And even if it doesn't seem to us that we were saved or protected from harm, I guarantee that God works all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Back to David and Saul, God was giving Saul another chance to repent, but it was up to Saul to follow through.
(20) "And now, behold, I know well that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand."
Saul admitted to David that he was now truly convinced that David was to be king, seeing that the Lord had preserved him from Saul's hand. He probably also recalled the prophecy of Samuel that the Lord had torn his kingdom away from him and had given it to a neighbor of his (1 Samuel 15:28). Interestingly, it was after Samuel had turned to leave Saul, that Saul laid hold of the skirt of Samuel's robe, and it tore. That is when Samuel told Saul that his kingdom would also be torn from him. And back to the present time, David had torn the skirt of Saul's garment, reinforcing God's will that David would take over the kingdom from Saul.
(21) "Swear now therefore to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house."
Saul then asked David to swear an oath that he would not destroy his descendants after him, thereby destroying his name out of his father's house. That had been the usual custom at the time. When one advanced to the throne of another, he usually destroyed all remaining descendants so that there would be no rivals with him.
(22) And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
David did swear to Saul that he would not cut off his posterity, and Saul went back to his palace in Gibeah. Interestingly, David and his men went back to their stronghold. It seems he wisely did not trust Saul not to reverse his thinking and go back to trying to kill him. After all, had there been a true repentance on Saul's part, he might have invited his son-in-law back to his palace and back to David's home with David's wife, Saul's daughter.
