Although he served Saul faithfully, the king grew jealous of David's success (1 Sam 18:9). Saul repeatedly tried to kill David to remove a potential rival for his throne (see 1 Sam 20:30-33).

First, Saul hurled a spear at David, trying to pin him to the wall. "But David eluded him twice" (1 Sam 18:10-11, NIV; 19:9-10).

Next, Saul gave David a military command and sent him into a war zone. Saul thought, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that" (1 Sam 18:17). But "in everything he did [David] had great success because the LORD was with him" (1 Sam 18:14).

Then Saul gave David his daughter in marriage, thinking that the son-in-law of Israel's king would prove an irresistible target for his enemies. But his daughter loved David and helped him escape (1 Sam 18:17-19:17).

Saul and his army chased David for several years, killing anyone who aided him and sometimes forcing David out of the country (1 Sam 19:11-27:12).

Twice David could have killed Saul, but he refused to do it. During one night, David and Abishai slipped into Saul's camp as the king and his bodyguards slept.

Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear...."

But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD Himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed." (1 Sam 26:8-11)

On another occasion, David crept up to Saul in a cave and cut off the corner of his garment. Later, David called to Saul from across a ravine:

My lord the king!...Why do you listen when men say, "David is bent on harming you"? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, "I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed."...As the old saying goes, "From evildoers come evil deeds," so my hand will not touch you. (1 Sam 24:8-13)

At this, even Saul had to acknowledge David's righteousness:

Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly...May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. I know that you will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands." (1 Sam 24:16-20)

In his dealings with Saul, David displayed several outstanding qualities:

First, he showed tremendous respect for God. The Lord had anointed Saul king over Israel, so David refused to strike God's chosen one even in self-defense. David was conscience-stricken for even cutting Saul's robe (1 Sam 24:5-7).

Second, David demonstrated a willingness to love his enemies, turn the other cheek, bless those who persecuted him, repay evil with good, and leave vengeance to God (see Deut 32:35; Prov 20:22; Matt 5:38-39, 43-45; Rom 12:14-21).

Third, David practiced what Scripture calls "waiting on the Lord" (see, for example, Ps 27:13-14; 33:16-22; 37:7-11, 34; 40:1-4; Isa 8:17; 30:18; 64:4-5; Mic 7:7; compare Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25; 23:51; Rom 8:18-25; 1 Cor 1:7; 1 Thes 1:10). God commanded Samuel to anoint David king in Saul's place (1 Sam 15-16). By right, then, the throne belonged to David. However, David did not want to become king through the sin of murder. He did not want to play the role of a rebel conducting a coup. Instead, he trusted in the Lord and waited patiently for God to fulfil His promise in His own time and His own way.

All these qualities made David "a man after God's own heart."

Reflect...

1. How well did David follow his principles in his dealings with (a) Nabal in 1 Samuel 25, (b) the Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1, and (c) Shimei in 2 Samuel 16:5-14 and 1 Kings 2?
   
2. For what do you need to "wait on the Lord"?

Christopher A. Davis, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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