1 Samuel 24:19-22
Verse 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
Saul is seeing things a little clearer now that he has realized this battle to death is a one-sided war. David doesn’t want him dead and that is hard for the king to understand. The king has been so filled with hate that he was hunting someone that he had once considered close enough to be one of three men joining him for a festival dinner. Now the king sees it was his hate alone.
While the troubling spirit given voices in his head had the king believing that David hated him and was trying to take over the kingdom. Saul had grand visions of his dynasty growing as his son Jonathan took over after his death and maybe even thoughts of how his name was going to be famous as his descendants continued to rule the nation of Israel. That is what he wanted and he didn’t want David getting in the way. But maybe David wasn’t after the kingdom after all.
Saul then speaks the truth of what he knows of David. The younger man didn’t kill the king and the only one who could cause a man to have such integrity was God. With that knowledge in mind the king makes a statement that is far from his current lifestyle, he says he hopes the Lord will reward David for not acting on his life. Saul even says something that he didn’t want to be true, David would be his replacement on the throne of Israel.
Whether Saul knew about David’s being anointed, he seems to know that will be the final outcome, it seems the king knew that the nation would be established under David’s reign. That bit of information tells us more about the issues in the reign of the first king crowned in Israel, he didn’t feel like he had established the kingdom himself. As the first king of the nation he would have expected that he would be the one to build the kingdom, bringing it to stability, but Saul’s troubling spirit has hindered that. Well, his troubling spirit and David’s popularity.
As Saul momentarily resigns himself to the fact that David will be taking over, he uses this moment, maybe the only opportunity he would ever have, to plead for the safety of his family and future generations. David had no problem agreeing to this since he had already promised Jonathan the same thing. David loved the king’s family and would willingly protect them.
Making It Personal
Have you ever had to admit someone wasn’t who you had originally thought them to be? How did you respond to the new knowledge about them? Would people be surprised if they learned who you really are?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever met someone and then found out later they were different than you thought at first? Are you always honest about who you are through how you live? Why is it important to get to know the truth of who someone is?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for always knowing us and our short-comings. Give us wisdom so that we can know truth about others and live in integrity. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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