How to read opportunities (1 Samuel 24)

Interpreting correctly what God is doing in our lives is a difficult task. Sometimes situations develop, which look like opportunities: a job offer, the potential for a new relationship, a fresh direction for our life. We see an open door. Are we meant to walk through it? What is God’s will? David finds himself in such a scenario. Saul has been searching high and low for him, convinced that God had given his son-in-law into his power (1 Sam 23:7), but in the end the king could not catch David. Now, by the most extraordinary circumstances, Saul is found by David. As David and his men crouch in the darkness of the cave that the king had walked into (1 Sam 24:3), the tension is enormous. The coincidence is so unreal that it must be providential, orchestrated by God. But what does it mean? How is David to read this opportunity?

Interpreting opportunity: David vs his men

David’s men have no doubts about what all this means. It is an opportunity presented by God for David to get rid of the enemy (1 Sam 24:4), the source of all their troubles. It would mean the end of this miserable fugitive existence, the living in uncertainty and fear. What a relief it would be! David could become king and, after all, God intends him to be, that is why he has been anointed. Time is pressing against David as he deliberates, the chance – if it is to be taken – is now. A royal robe represents a king’s authority, so cutting off a corner of it (v.4) is a symbolic gesture of claiming kingship.[1] Yet David is troubled by what he has done (1 Sam 24:5), probably because he realises how close he has come to doing violence. Clarity comes to him in that moment: he cannot attack God’s anointed (1 Sam 24:6). God’s gifts even when promised must not be seized but received from God’s hand.

An opportunity for good: a chance taken and missed

What looked like an opportunity to grasp power, David turns into one for reconciliation. His unwillingness to seize power foreshadows the attitude of the Lord Jesus who will not grasp what is rightfully His but wait on God to give it in His time and His way (Phil 2:5-8). This behaviour is a reversal of the Fall where humanity grasped through illegitimate means the fruit not given by God. David’s eloquent speech as he calls after the king shows how he had the opportunity to kill Saul but refused to harm him (1 Sam 24:9-11). David clearly entrusts himself to God to judge his case and vindicate him (1 Sam 24:12, 15) rather than take revenge. Jesus will likewise refrain from bringing righteous justice and instead suffer himself to enable the possibility of reconciliation between God and humanity.

Confronted with David’s extraordinary behaviour is a reality check for Saul. It is as if scales had fallen off the king’s eyes and he admits for the first time that David is the better man and will be king one day (1 Sam 24:17, 20). All the pent-up emotions in Saul burst open, and we cannot help but feel some pity for this tortured soul. Yet, sadly, his tears of anguish do not lead to repentance. His aim is still narrowly concerned with self-preservation, hence the request that David (once in power) may spare his family (1 Sam 24:21). Saul has the opportunity to reconcile to David and relinquish his power, but he cannot do it.

The key to godly discernment

At first glance, it may seem that this story advocates a passive attitude of ‘let go and let God’, but such a reading misses the point. Rather, it cautions against reading opportunities in a self-serving way where we take illegitimate shortcuts because we think the circumstances are so extraordinary that they must be providential. However, the end can never justify the means. David, though tempted, is able to discern God’s purposes because he approaches the question with trust in the Lord and a willingness to obey Him. Saul, on the other hand, consistently misreads situations because he does not understand this connection between discernment and obedience (John 7:17). As we seek the Lord, may we make the most of our opportunities to do His will.

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[1] David G. Firth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Nottingham: Apollos, 2009), 257. Earlier Saul grasped the edge of Samuel’s cloak to detain him, and the fabric was torn, which the prophet used as a sign of how the kingdom will be torn from Saul (1 Sam 15:27-28). Jonathan gave his robe and weapons to David (1 Sam 18:4) symbolising the transfer of power from himself to David.

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