Leveraging Our Strength For Others: 1 Samuel 26:1-12
God wants us to be strong for the people around us. That is what community is all about. In my moment of weakness, I need others around me to point me in a good direction and keep me dwelling in godliness.
Once more Saul seeks to destroy David. He forgot the earlier lesson God taught him in the cave. Saul claimed to understand David’s place as the next king. He claimed to understand David was not his enemy. Saul won’t let it go, however. He allows himself to get sucked back into his anger towards David. He spirals back into fear.
Saul is familiar with David’s tactics, so he brings out an army of three thousand soldiers. Saul is no longer looking to find David and kill him. Saul wants to destroy David’s entire following. Saul sees David’s followers as a threat to his entire regime.
Seeing the situation, David looks to his two closest generals and asks for a volunteer. David wants to get to Saul, but he doesn’t want to start a full battle. David doesn’t want to put his men in danger, but he is willing to risk his own life. His nephew, Abishai, volunteers to go with him.
This is the problem with bringing three-thousand people with you. At some point the encampment gets too big and the guards are not sure who belongs. Big camps can be infiltrated, as David and Abishai prove. It also doesn’t hurt that God placed the camp underneath a deep sleep.
When David and Abishai get to Saul’s tent, they see him sleeping. Abishai wants to kill Saul and end the threat. David, however, refuses to lift his hand against Saul. He knows God delivered him into this situation to prove himself rather than act in violence. David is strong and prevents Abishai from committing murder. Instead, David and Abishai steal Saul’s spear and water jug.
David is exceptionally righteous when it comes to Saul. David is all-too-happy to let the kingdom rest in God’s hands. The temptation to become king would be great for many who are willing to destroy a rival for their own gain. For David, though, the kingdom is not worth sinning against God.
This doesn’t mean David is perfect. Against Nabal, David had plenty of difficulty dealing with an offense to his honor. He also has difficulty resisting the ability to collect wives. David has areas where the fight against sin is real, but the accumulation of power is not such an area.
Each of us have places where the temptation to sin is fierce and other spots where the temptation to sin is non-existent. Those areas differ from person to person. Like David, when we find it easy to resist the temptation of sin, we should employ our strength and help those around us struggle. God wants us to be strong for the people around us.
