Bitterness, Part 3

He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.”

David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’? Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed.’ Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.” 1 Samuel 24:3-12

If anyone had a right to bitterness, it was David. Pursued relentlessly by King Saul, David was reduced to seeking refuge among thieves and common criminals. He was the anointed future king of Israel, and yet he became a cave dweller and fugitive.

How many of us, like David, have wept under the carelessness of another person’s assault? David did nothing to deserve the wrath of Saul’s anger. He was loyal to the king. In fact, had he failed to come on the scene, Goliath and the Philistines would have annihilated the armies of Israel.

Jealously and a bitter spirit took up residence in the heart of Saul. What a horrifying way to say thank you to someone who saved your life and your throne. On one occasion, God provided David easy access to the king’s stronghold. Had bitterness and retaliation been David’s goal, he could have easily slain Saul. No one would have blamed him - no one except God. In obedience and humility, David refused to touch the Lord’s anointed. A show of bitterness is never God’s way.

It takes great faith to turn a hurtful situation over to God. It was David’s way, and God called him “a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). It should also be our way.

Bitterness refers to a settled hostility that poisons the whole inner man. -Warren Wiersbe