1Samuel 24:18 - Prayer Tents



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1Samuel 24
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“I’m No Rebel”

24When Saul came back after dealing with the Philistines, he was told, "David is now in the wilderness of En Gedi."H7586H7725H310H6430H5046H559H1732H4057H5872 2Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks.H7586H3947H7969H505H977H376H3478H3212H1245H1732H582H6440H6697H3277 3He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave.H935H1448H6629H1870H4631H7586H935H5526H7272H1732H582H3427H3411H4631 4David's men whispered to him, "Can you believe it? This is the day GOD was talking about when he said, 'I'll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.'" Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul's royal robe.H582H1732H559H3117H3068H559H5414H341H3027H6213H3190H5869H1732H6965H3772H3671H7586H4598H3909 5Immediately, he felt guilty.H310H1732H3820H5221H3772H7586H3671 6He said to his men, "GOD forbid that I should have done this to my master, GOD's anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He's GOD's anointed!"H559H582H3068H2486H6213H1697H113H3068H4899H7971H3027H4899H3068 7David held his men in check with these words and wouldn't let them pounce on Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and went on down the road.H1732H8156H582H1697H5414H6965H7586H7586H6965H4631H3212H1870 8Then David stood at the mouth of the cave and called to Saul, "My master! My king!" Saul looked back. David fell to his knees and bowed in reverence.H1732H6965H3318H4631H7121H310H7586H559H113H4428H7586H5027H310H1732H6915H639H776H7812 9He called out, "Why do you listen to those who say 'David is out to get you'?H1732H559H7586H8085H120H1697H559H1732H1245H7451 10This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave GOD put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn't do it. I told them that I won't lift a finger against my master—he's GOD's anointed.H3117H5869H7200H3068H5414H3117H3027H4631H559H2026H2347H559H7971H3027H113H3068H4899 11Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn't. Look at the evidence! I'm not against you. I'm no rebel. I haven't sinned against you, and yet you're hunting me down to kill me.H1H7200H7200H3671H4598H3027H3772H3671H4598H2026H3045H7200H7451H6588H3027H2398H6658H5315H3947 12Let's decide which of us is in the right. God may avenge me, but it is in his hands, not mine.H3068H8199H3068H5358H3027 13An old proverb says, 'Evil deeds come from evil people.' So be assured that my hand won't touch you.H559H4912H6931H7562H3318H7563H3027 14"What does the king of Israel think he's doing? Who do you think you're chasing? A dead dog? A flea?H310H4428H3478H3318H310H7291H310H4191H3611H310H259H6550 15GOD is our judge. He'll decide who is right. Oh, that he would look down right now, decide right now—and set me free of you!"H3068H1781H8199H7200H7378H7379H8199H3027 16When David had finished saying all this, Saul said, "Can this be the voice of my son David?" and he wept in loud sobs.H1732H3615H1696H1697H7586H7586H559H6963H1121H1732H7586H5375H6963H1058 17"You're the one in the right, not me," he continued. "You've heaped good on me; I've dumped evil on you.H559H1732H6662H1580H2896H1580H7451 18And now you've done it again—treated me generously. GOD put me in your hands and you didn't kill me.H5046H3117H6213H2896H3068H5462H3027H2026 19Why? When a man meets his enemy, does he send him down the road with a blessing? May GOD give you a bonus of blessings for what you've done for me today!H376H4672H341H7971H2896H1870H3068H7999H2896H6213H3117 20I know now beyond doubt that you will rule as king. The kingdom of Israel is already in your grasp!H3045H4427H4427H4467H3478H6965H3027 21Now promise me under GOD that you will not kill off my family or wipe my name off the books."H7650H3068H518H3772H2233H310H8045H8034H1H1004 22David promised Saul. Then Saul went home and David and his men went up to their wilderness refuge.H1732H7650H7586H7586H3212H1004H1732H582H5927H4686


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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