1 Samuel 24:7

24:1-7 God delivered Saul into David's hand. It was an opportunity given to David to exercise faith and patience. He had a promise of the kingdom, but no command to slay the king. He reasons strongly, both with himself and with his men, against doing Saul any hurt. Sin is a thing which it becomes us to startle at, and to resist temptations thereto. He not only would not do this bad thing himself, but he would not suffer those about him to do it. Thus he rendered good for evil, to him from whom he received evil for good; and was herein an example to all who are called Christians, not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good.

So David stayed his servants with these words,.... Or pacified them, as the Targum, and made them quiet and easy in that he had not slain him, and reconciled their minds to his conduct, and restrained them from laying hands on him, by observing to them, that he was the anointed of the Lord: and suffered them not to rise against Saul; to take away his life; he not only argued with them, but laid his commands on them that they should not slay him: but Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way; he rose from his sleep, and went out of the cave unhurt, and proceeded on in the way he came to the sheepcotes, and which led on further, 1 Samuel 24:3.

1 Samuel 24:7-8 . And suffered them not to rise against Saul — He not only would not do this ill thing himself, but he would not suffer those about him to do it. Thus did he render good for evil to him, from whom he had received evil for good; and was herein both a type of Christ, who saved his persecutors, and an example to all Christians, not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good. David also went out of the cave, and cried after Saul — A bold attempt this, to adventure to come into the presence of such an enraged enemy. But his innocence, and confidence in God, imboldened him, especially having so strong an evidence to give of his integrity.

The trench - Rather, "the wagons," which were all put together in the camp so as to form a kind of bulwark or fortification (see 1 Samuel 26:5 , 1 Samuel 26:7 ). Here David left his "carriage" 1 Samuel 17:22 , i. e., the things which he had carried, "his things" as we should say, or baggage (translated stuff in 1 Samuel 10:22 ; 1 Samuel 25:13 ; 1 Samuel 30:24 ). There seems to have been an officer ("the keeper," 1 Samuel 17:22 ) in the Hebrew army whose charge it was to guard the baggage.

Stayed his servants, Heb. cut, or clave , or divided, or cut them off . The word notes both the eagerness and violence of David’s men in prosecuting their desire, and David’s resoluteness in opposing them, as it were, by force; wherein he shows great piety, and generosity, and loyalty to Saul.

4-7. the men of David said … Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand—God had never made any promise of delivering Saul into David's hand; but, from the general and repeated promises of the kingdom to him, they concluded that the king's death was to be effected by taking advantage of some such opportunity as the present. David steadily opposed the urgent instigations of his followers to put an end to his and their troubles by the death of their persecutor (a revengeful heart would have followed their advice, but David rather wished to overcome evil with good, and heap coals of fire upon his head); he, however, cut off a fragment from the skirt of the royal robe. It is easy to imagine how this dialogue could be carried on and David's approach to the king's person could have been effected without arousing suspicion. The bustle and noise of Saul's military men and their beasts, the number of cells or divisions in these immense caverns (and some of them far interior) being enveloped in darkness, while every movement could be seen at the cave's mouth—the probability that the garment David cut from might have been a loose or upper cloak lying on the ground, and that Saul might have been asleep—these facts and presumptions will be sufficient to account for the incidents detailed.