David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 23-25, Psalm 113.

1 Samuel 24:1-15 (selected verses)

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” So Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel to seek David at the Wildgoats’ Rocks. He came to the sheepfolds, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were in the inner part of the cave.

David’s men said, “Here is the day of which the LORD said, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But afterward David’s heart struck him, and he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him.” So David restrained his men and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up, left the cave, and went on his way.

Afterward David went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth. He said, “Why do you listen to those who say, ‘David seeks your harm’? This day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’

See, my father, the corner of your robe in my hand. By this you may know that there is no wrong or treason in me. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life. May the LORD judge between me and you, and avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.

In today’s reading, David quietly cuts a corner from Saul’s robe – and just as quickly, his heart is struck. It’s a small act, almost nothing, and yet not nothing. It made me think of another moment – a woman reaching out to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment, believing that even that would be enough. The two scenes could not be more different in intent. And yet both draw our attention to the One who is the Lord’s Anointed — and to what it means not to grasp, but to receive.

That detail that David cut off the corner of Saul’s garment matters. The “corner” of Saul’s robe was not just fabric, but a visible sign of his identity and authority as the Lord’s anointed. The Hebrew word here can mean edge or even wing. It’s the same word used in Ruth 3:9 when she says, to Boaz, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your kānāp (your garment/wing) over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” It is also used in Psalm 91:4, “[The LORD] will cover you with his pinions, under his wings (kānāp) you will find refuge.”

When David cut Saul’s garment he was laying hold of something that was not his to take. And David knows it. His heart strikes him, not because he has done great harm, but because he has come too close to grasping what only the Lord can give. And that, perhaps, is where the contrast with the woman becomes most striking — one act that reaches out and takes, and regrets it; another that reaches out in faith, and receives.

There is something to be said of David’s restraint. His resolve not to usurp Saul’s authority is noteworthy. He realizes that Saul is the LORD’s anointed. David is not. One day he will be. But he is not willing to put out his hand against his lord, for Saul is the LORD’s anointed. His power and authority was not for David to take.

Then I think of the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. Power went out from him, and she was healed. Her desire was for restoration from a twelve-year ordeal of unimaginable pain, shame, and isolation. Jesus takes on her uncleanness, and she receives his restoring wholeness.

We may be tempted to take matters into our own hands when the moment seems to justify it, but it is much better to rely on God’s grace and mercy, seeking the shelter of his protective wings – not grasping what is not ours to take, but receiving what Christ freely gives.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.